Agents of SHIELD: Agents of Redemption
by JFuzzyWraith0587
Summary: With dangerous change on the horizon, Director Coulson tries to stem the tide, but he can't do it alone. With his team still recuperating from the Jia Ying/InHuman assault and Simmons missing he has to recruit an old ally to aid him. Jaxx is a former soldier and a 0-8-4, but are his skills alone enough to help rebuild SHIELD, or will the secrets from his past make him a danger.
1. Prologue: Something in the Dark

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own Agents of SHIELD, or any part of the Marvel Universe, just using it for my fanfiction. I own nothing but my imagination and OC's I create. Thank you for reading and give me your thoughts and reviews, do be kind.**

 **Spoilers:** **This story is set a week after the Season 1 Finale of Agents of SHIELD, side note glad that it and Agent Carter got renewed for another season.**

" **Something In The Dark** "

The eyelids started to twitch ever so slightly, all because the dreams were becoming more and more captivating with each passing second. These dreams were so intense that the dreamer has yet to notice where he is; so instead of sleeping in a nice, warm, comfortable bed he was in fact resting on an old-worn down cot inside a dank, cold room.

The room itself is dimly lit by a single flickering bulb, and the man simply laid there like a corpse without moving nor making a sound. He would have continued to slumber living in his own dreamscapes, but as fate would have it the room decided it was time for him to wake. Although it's version of an alarm came in the form of condensation which pooled together just above the young man. Within moments a single drop began to form and seconds later it fell away, splashing down on his pale-skinned cheek.

 **Unknown Man**

Something cold and wet hits my cheek. It was cold enough to make my whole body flinch and cause goosebumps to form on the back of my arms.

Normally I'd be awake instantly from something like that, but instead, I continue to just lay there, still; clinching my eyes shut like I'm some frightened child.

Why do I feel like this? Can't even remember the last time I felt like this. I feel it hit my cheek again, only this time it was much colder, like the icey touch of death.

I stir awake finally, blinking my eyes open; only there was nothing to see but dimly lit, blurs.

Sitting up feels next to impossible, as both my bones and muscles feel as if I got hit by the Hulk, twice. After managing to sit up, I let my feet touch the floor; the floor was freezing, damp, and hard like concrete.

I rub my eyes and face trying to shake off what little bit of drowsiness is left in my system. As I take a second look, I quickly wish I hadn't.

Should've kept on sleeping, would've been better than waking up and finding myself in some kind of holding cell, a used one at that.

At first glance I don't see any discernable way out, kinda hard to tell thanks to that damn flickering bulb.

I pop my back and crack my neck a few times letting out a relieving sigh afterwards. Have'ta force myself to stand up, but my damn body still feels sore and my bones ache, yet I finally manage to stand.

Nearly lose my balance; feel so light-headed for some reason, but why? Has to be some kinda drug that's still in my system.

In moments I can feel it begin to dissipate just as quickly as it came, after which I decided to take a closer look at my current accommodations.

Normally, I'd be asking myself why I'm here, or at the very least who could've put me here. Right now, the only question I need to answer is how the hell do I get outta here.

After looking for a bit, the apparent bad news was that there was no obvious door in sight, just concrete walls; but there was worse news, some of the walls appeared to have...scratch marks? Someone was frightened enough to try and claw their way out; what the hell is this place?

I decided to take a better look at the so-called "bed" I was sleeping on. Closer inspection of this cot tells me that it's an old military issued cot, circa 1943; it also tells me that it's been used and worn down to the point of being unusable, perhaps even hazardous.

It's been used so many times over the years that I can smell the sweat stains in the fabric; there were other stains among them, some that reeked of...ugh, I think it's time to stop looking here.

Standing back up, I start to feel something. This place, the flickering bulb, everything in here feels unnervingly familiar. I've been here before, my body knows it, even my instincts tells me the same thing, but it can't be right...can it? My jaw clenches, I'm starting to get pissed; I keep asking myself _What the hell is going on here?_

The man takes in a deep calming breath, while placing his hands on his hips, soon after he closes his eyes and tries to concentrate. He tried to think of a way out of this place, but came up with nothing. That is when once again, a strange feeling came over him, but this one was different. He felt as though there was someone watching him from behind; so he prepared and braced himself for what was to come next.

 **Unknown Man**

Someone's behind me, I feel their eyes boreing a hole in the back of my head. My hands clench into fists and my muscles go tant as I ready myself.

One quick fluid-like motion and I turn around ready to fight without hesitation; however, I was not prepared for who was right in front of me.

Sitting on the floor before me, playing with some army men toys, was a kid. He couldn't be more than 8 years old, 9 tops, and how did he get in here?

What bugged me more was the fact that we were both wearing the same clothes; gray sweats, long-sleeve white shirt (though mine appears to be stained) and neither of us had shoes on.

At first I thought that this was some sort of trick or illusion; maybe it was the drug in my system. Well, whatever the case may be, I'll play along, for a while at least or until I find a way outta this place.

Slowly, I take a step forward; he looks up at me, a playful smile crosses his face as he says "Hi." his tone gentle, like he's not afraid of this place, or me.

"Hi there." my tone as gentle as I can make it. The kid continued to smile at me, while I knelt down across from him. "My name is Jaxx; what's your name buddy?"

The kid looks down at his toys and starts to play then says "My name is Thomas; like the train." Like the train? It'd be cute if he wasn't so damn freakishly calm.

I sit down opposite of the kid and he hands me one of his toys; looking at the infantryman I start to have brief flashback to when I served. As I look up I see the kids' eyes, they were a metallic green. It's a unique color, yet like this room he seems familiar.

"Thomas, where are you from? Where is home?" Asking a question like this, especially now, is a risk; it's possible that he might not know, or that he might be too afraid to tell me.

He looks at me once more, but this time he appeared confused by the question, "This is home. Yours too; don't you remember?"

Now I'm the one that's confused; why did he just say this is my home too? "My memory is a bit fuzzy on that." I have'ta get some straight answers.

"Do you...possibly know how to get out of here?" Another risky question, he could shut down or even stop talking to me, but I have'ta chance it.

He lets out a giggle "The door stupid." Now he just got less cute and more annoying, nevertheless he points behind him and there it is. A steel reinforced door that wasn't there before.

Slowly get to my feet, that's when the door slowly creaks open, like a door in a haunted house. I take a few more steps til I'm at the opening; can't see anything except black, pure blackness.

I turn around to see Thomas still playing with his toys, making gunfire noises and explosion sounds like he was playing war as if it were a game. I've been through war, through gunfights, through explosions and it wasn't fun nor was it a child's game.

No more fun and games, it's time to leave, for both of us to leave. "Thomas, buddy, we gotta go, now!" I try not to raise my voice, I try to keep calm.

"Jaxx?" he queries; I start to feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Soon after I started getting a sinking feeling in my stomach, then I hear someone whispering in the blackness.

I look behind me, "What is it bud?" As I look back at Thomas I see a horrifying scene. My heart is trying to pound out of my chest as I see blood pouring from his nose and mouth; his shirt looked tattered and bloody.

I tried to yell but my voice was completely gone; he walked towards me tilting his head to the right "Why did I have to die Jaxx?" his voice breaks, my blood curdles.

Something grabs me from behind, trying to pull me into the darkness; I manage grab the doorframe, but my grip is beginning to slip.

As I look back at the kid, he's standing there pointing at me wearing a sinister blood-covered smile. "At long last, there's your secret." the voice was not his own; it sounded older, and English, it was as if he was possessed.

Can't hold on anymore, the tips of my fingers start to slip, and something covers my mouth then I finally lose my grip falling into the darkness.

My eyes snap open once again, but this time I see a familiar ceiling fan spinning above; letting out a heavy sigh before I look to my right to see the alarm telling me it's 4:00 a.m. Same damn dream, same as the night before and the every night since Philadelphia. But hey, at least I got 4 hours of sleep this time, guess that's something; time to start the day, for what it's worth.

2 hours later

In this world, in this day and age there is one certainty that all could agree on; that everyman, every woman, that everything has a breaking point. A point where they just throw in the towel, where they decide to give in or call it quits simply saving themselves the bother or trouble. He thought that he would be safe that if he got as far away from the world that he knew that the nightmares would stop haunting him. But after nearly a month and a half the nightmares were becoming more and more intense every time he closed his eyes.

The dreams increase his adrenaline which causes him to revert back to his military training. He works it off the only way he knows how, by doing push-ups, sit-ups, and even running a mile each day. As a soldier he was taught to never let the enemy get inside your head, but what happens when the enemy is already inside? Right now, the young man standing in the shower has nearly reached his breaking point. Jaxx, as he is called by both friends and acquaintances, stands as still as a statue while the heated water splashes against his flesh, while he grimaces at the dream he just awoke from.

 **Jaxx**

Can't shake it off. That same damn dream continuingly haunts me night after night, even worse is the fact that I have no idea what the hell any of it means.

I've had nights like this before; there were times when I was in Falusia where sleep was next to impossible to get. But that was war, it was a common occurrence, this is anything but.

What haunts me the most about the dreams is that they feel so surreal, even down to the voice that said _"At long last, there's your secret."_ I get goosebumps all over every time I hear that.

This shower doesn't help, but regardless it's become part of my routine, one that has kept me sane; for the moment at least. Guess I have no other choice, I hate to admit it but there's still one last card I can still play.

12 minutes later

He usually isn't this anxious; he was trained to be calm, cool, and collected at all times, like a good soldier that he was. Sure he cracked jokes or made comments that were out of character for one with his history, but that was more for him than it was for everyone else. But today was no joke; his face holds no expression as he sits on the bed tucking in the bottom of his pant legs into his boots. Tying them tight enough to almost cut off circulation was an old habit he acquired when he joined the marines. Standing up, he tightens his black military-issued belt, soon after he walks over to the wardrobe mirror resting in the corner of the bedroom. He doesn't look at it; instead he kneels down next to an old duffle bag and pulls the zipper left to right. He shuffles a few things around before he finds it; he pulls it out and watches as the chained pendant dangles in front of him.

This single piece of jewelry was more important to him than even his dog tag (which to a marine is saying something). He rests the chain around his neck leaving the pendant to seemingly resting against his chest. Getting ready to zip the bag closed something catches his eye, something from his past that is resting comfortably underneath some socks. Pushing aside the socks, he pulls out the big black case; one which had embroidering that read _**UNITED STATES OF AMERICA**_. He stood up, hesitating to open it; no instead he looked up and saw his reflection in the mirror.

He turned to face it and took in every detail, everything from the scuff marks and dirt on his boots to the clean cut jeans and white shirt. Brushing his hair with his hand, he looked to his right and grabbed the brown jacket that rested on the chair. He slipped it on with ease and once more took a look at himself; he was nervous, not that anyone could tell, and once more he brushed his hair with his hand before turning his attention back to the case. Part of him wanted to open it even though it held all sorts of memories, most of which he wanted to forget.

 _ **No, not now**_ he thought to himself, so he stuffed it inside his inner jacket pocket and lets out a sigh of relief. He kneels down once more to zip closed his duffle bag, then swings it over his shoulder; now he was ready and prepared for what was to come next. As he walks past the kitchen and into the living room he stops to look at some photos. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a note; he grins as he smacks it once, and then places it in front of one particular photo. On the front of the note it says only this; _Thanks for letting me stay General, but it was time for me to move on. As always, your friendly wisecracking marine. - Jaxx_

He walks over to the door, opens it and gets halfway out when he pauses; he turns back and takes in one last look at this cabin. Jaxx lets out a slight chuckle before he closes the door, locking it behind him; he takes in one last breath of fresh air, then he begins his trek down the creek bed to meet up with an old friend.

 **1 hour 47 minutes later**

 **Jaxx**

I'm still nervous as hell; not sure if this is the right choice or not, but what other options are there?

As I look around though, it feels nice out here. Away from all the noise and electronics, especially after what happen with the Ultron situation.

So much chaos, so much destruction because of one man; hell I can see why he would need someone like me.

Looking ahead, just about 200 meters and I see him, standing there waiting for me. Can't help but smile a bit; from this distance I can see the look of gloom over his face.

It takes me about 7 minutes to get to him; he just stands there in his nice agent suit, that's when I notice that his left arm is in a sling. He looks anxious, maybe the even a little preoccupied by something; curious.

"Hello Jaxx; been a while." that's Coulson for you, always a smooth operator, that's why he's one of the few people I can trust.

 **Coulson**

I'm glad Jaxx accepted my proposal; with everything that has happened in the past month, I might need someone like Jaxx on my side. Things are becoming increasingly difficult at the base, with Simmons missing and nowhere to be found, Bobbi still recovering from Ward, I need all the help I can get.

However, my decisions haven't helped matters much, and I'll have to carry the weight of my decisions for the rest of my life as well as the consequences, just like Fury did.

He just stands there holding his old military issued duffle bag, waiting for some kind of response; takes me back to when we first met, back before we had to deal with genocidal A.I's, enhanced's everywhere, and now "Inhumans".

He asks me "The offer still good?" I haven't told him what has happened since he last saw the team. Never been able to lie to Jaxx, he has always been able to tell when someone was lying; one of many tricks he's learned.

"It's still good; but before we take this any further, you should know that there have been some changes since your last visit." Though it's hard to tell, a hint of confusion crossing his face; he was always good at keeping a straight face, that's why I never invite him to poker night.

"You still the director right?" his tone is neutral, yet gravelly; he looks exhausted, as if he hasn't been sleeping well lately. Wonder if it's the nightmares he told me about before.

"Things have gotten...complicated." Hope he doesn't take my answer as a bad sign, but who knows, Jaxx isn't a clear-cut kinda guy.

"This only works if I answer to you and to you only. No one else." His tone was a bit more sternful this time, yet he remained calm and collected.

His request wasn't unreasonable, but I can't shake the feeling that there's more that he's not telling me. "Ok, it's a deal."

He smirks, then walks over to me and holds out his hand; we shake and nod in agreement.

"Well then, let's get this show on the road. The jets' not going to fly itself, well unless you have your own A.I flying that thing. You don't, do ya?" He walks over to where the hover jet is, like it's not even cloaked and I activate the ramp.

He walks in and I quickly follow; I press the remote and the ramp closes behind us. Jaxx stows his bag before getting seated in the pilots' seat.

I take the co-pilots' seat and get buckled in, while Jaxx starts flipping on switches; it's harder to buckle in now thanks to my missing hand, but I manage. May taught him how to fly so I think it best to let him take the wheel and seconds later we're ready for takeoff.

"Ready to go sir!" He says. From the sound of it, I'm guessing he missed the action, most soldiers like him often do. I nod, a sign for him to go ahead and just like that, we're off the ground going full throttle back to base.

"So, it's been a little over a year since I last saw the guys, and gals. How is the old band doing? Haven't heard from Jemma in a little while, what's she up to?" He's cheerful, but if only he knew. I hesitate which catches his notice and he gazes at me with a glint of concern in his eyes.

"You remember back on the Islands; I promised you that I'd always tell you the truth, even if you didn't want it?" Now he looks more confused than before, but still he nods in acknowledgement. So for the next 4 and 1/2 hours I tell him everything. I tell him about the alien writings I was compelled to draw, Whitehall, Ward, Skye's father and mother, Triplett, everything. I can only give him my side of the story about the other SHIELD invading our base, Skye's powers, even the events that led up to the Ultron attack. I don't hold anything back, not even about those that we lost, I had to gain his trust and the only way to do that was giving him the truth. I also tell him about Jemma missing and what we didn't destroy on the Islands nearly a year ago, and how it was going to haunt us.


	2. Ep1 Ch1 SHIELD ReAssemble

During World War II the Nazi regime, led by Adolph Hitler, formed a faction whose sole purpose was to help create a means to defeat Germany's enemies using science and technology; this group was known as _Hydra_. Johann Schmidt, a German super soldier and scientist by the name of _The Red Skull_ , lead Hydra in finding an ancient and powerful artifact known as the _Tesseract_. Using the artifacts' powers, Schmidt and fellow scientist Dr. Arnim Zola, created weapons far more advanced than any other that the United States have seen. This turned the tide of the war in favor of Hydra and from here most everyone knows the rest of the story.

A story where a sickly and scrawny Steve Rogers was recruited by the S.S.R (the 1940's precursor to SHIELD) for their Super Soldier program. After which he became the one and only super soldier known as Captain America, the First Avenger. With the help of the S.S.R and his own Howling Commandos, he began to systematically dismantle Hydra. Yet, these victories did not come without sacrifice; during these surgical strikes, Captain Rogers seemingly lost his childhood friend and fellow soldier James "Bucky" Barnes. At the climactic battle against Hydra's final base, Rogers not only defeated the Red Skull, but sacrificed his own life to end Schmidt's plans and therefore saving countless lives.

At the very tail-end of the war S.S.R agent Peggy Carter, with whom Captain Rogers himself worked closely with, and the remaining Howling Commandos detained and captured the remaining Hydra operatives. Johann Schmidt's protégé Dr. Werner Reinhardt or Dr. Daniel Whitehall, as he would later be known, was among the captured; with this everyone thought Hydra was finally defeated and no longer a threat. No one could have expected that the last few still loyal to Hydra and it's cause were simply hiding; lying in wait for the perfect opportune time to strike.

Their plans started with infiltrating the descendant of the S.S.R, formed and founded by Peggy Carter and Anthony Stark, known as Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division; or S.H.I.E.L.D for short. Hydra agents merged seamlessly with the new agency, slowly gaining new recruits throughout the years as well as new and even alien technology. With each level they infiltrated they not only gained the respect, but also trust from their so-called peers and superiors alike. For some, like agent Phil Coulson, this was an excruciatingly painful pill to swallow, until he learned that fellow agent and friend John Garrett revealed himself as Hydra.

With this reveal Coulson tried desperately to keep his team close for they were the only ones that he could truly trust. Fate proved a cruel mistress once more as it was later revealed that one of his teammates and Garrett's own protégé, Grant Ward, was a traitor. Coulson realized that this was indeed true when Ward himself locked FitzSimmons in a chamber and ejected it letting it sink to the bottom of the ocean. Ward kept proclaiming that " _I'm not loyal to Hydra. I'm only loyal to Garrett._ " which only came to fall on deaf ears each time he said it. After the death of Garrett and Wards' capture, Coulson was not only given the keys to Fury's secret underground base known as _The Playground_ , but he was also given the title of Director by Nick Fury himself.

In the month following those events Director Coulson has tried his best to rebuild not only SHIELD itself but also the team he once trusted. He sends out agent Melinda May and agent Antoine Triplett to rescue those agents still loyal to SHIELD from the clutches of Hydra. While they rescued, he and Billy Koenig recruited who they could trust, but the past few weeks he has sent Billy and his brother out recruiting while he stayed back to keep an eye on things. So he sits in his new office behind his mahogany desk watching the monitor.

 **Coulson**

I hate this. I hate seeing Simmons like this. There she is sitting at Fitz's bedside, wanting to be the first thing he sees when he wakes.

He's been comatose for weeks now; all of us hope that he'll eventually wake, but even then Simmons knows he won't be the same because of the oxygen deprivation he suffered while on the ocean floor.

She's reading to him, holding his hand, hoping the combination of the two will help stir him from the coma.

I flip the sterling silver letter opener in my hand while using the other to scroll over to the next camera. There's Skye, hard at work installing a new firewall that she guaranteed to keep out any unwanted snoopers.

She's barely slept 6 hours within the past week, probably having nightmares about her time with Ward and who could blame her. She exits out frame, most likely to come tell me that she's finished and looking for something else to do.

Once again I scroll over to the next camera, and there he is sitting on his bed in prison cell waiting for his daily interrogation. My hand clinches tight enough to the point of my knuckles turning white.

I notice my other hand using the letter opener, carving those glyphs into my desk. Takes everything I have to stop, even then I can still feel it gnawing at me.

That's when I hear a knock at my door, I quickly turn off the monitor and cover the glyphs with a mouse pad after which I say "Enter." Time for your game face Coulson, she can't know what's going on, no one can know.

 **Skye**

Opening the door and there he is sitting at his desk; still having a hard time thinking of him as Director Coulson instead of agent. But things change, I have most certainly, just don't know if it's for the better.

"Hey Coul- Sorry, I mean Director Coulson." I keep forgetting to call him Director; I mean I'm a SHIELD agent now so I need to start acting like one.

"It's ok Skye; you don't have to call me Director every time, Coulson is just fine." He grins like he used to, like he did before the crap hit the fan.

"Ok A.C." that's my little nickname for him, "Here's my report on our new Security Systems as well as an update from Agent May." I hand him the tablet and he immediately starts reading through it.

"May and Triplett run into any problems?" he doesn't even look up from the tablet. With all his new responsibilities as Director I'm not all that shocked that he's trying to multi-task.

"Aside from the usual, no. Triplett reported that some of the agents they rescued were injured so they'll probably need medical attention." That's when he stops scrolling the tablet and looks up; he leans back in his chair and lets out a heavy sigh.

"If their injuries aren't too severe we'll get one of the other doctors to fix them up." I can the look of concern in his eyes, a look I know all too well.

"So, how is Fitz doing? Getting any better?" I'm hoping for some great news because we could use a big win right about now, but I know his answer before he even speaks.

 **Coulson**

"Fitz's condition is the same. No change at all." I try to keep my voice smooth, but it ends up breaking and she noticed. She looks calm, but I could tell that she was just as distraught over my answer as I was.

She looks down at her feet for a moment trying to think of something say, possibly trying to find a way to change the subject. "Damn." she says under her breath trying to keep me from hearing, but she immediately looks up. She knows I heard her.

"Sorry AC it's just-" she's trying so hard to keep her composure, trying her damnedest to be a good agent. "I know Skye, I know. After everything that's happened, with Garrett, with Ward; it's normal to feel helpless."

This is especially true when one of our own is lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life. "But we have to move forward, we have to push ourselves past all of the heartache, the tragedy; wasn't for nothing."

I stand up, walk around the desk and stand in front of her. She looks up at me trying to take in every word as if it was her first day at the academy.

"What I'm trying to say is, don't stretch yourself too thin." she scoffs and rolls her eyes, but I keep on it "You've been pushing yourself too much, especially with this last month. You are not responsible for anything that has happened; not Hydra, not Fitz, not Ward."

When she looks at me I can see that Ward is still a touchy subject and that there's fault in her eyes. "Coulson, I should've known something was off about him. I mean he was my SO for crying out loud, I should've seen this coming!"

The intensity, the pain that radiated from her eyes said it all. Gently I place my hands on her shoulders and say "SKYE, none of this is your fault; if anyone is to blame for not seeing Ward as a traitor it is me. This is Hydra's and Ward's fault, not ours; you have to learn to forgive yourself and focus on what you can do and not what you can't."

 **Skye**

Coulson is good at these pep talks; he always made me feel like I could do so much more, be so much more than I was. I'll never be able to thank him enough for that, yet I still feel so useless when it comes to Fitz.

Just thinking of him lying there in a coma, poor Jemma; god only knows what she must be going through. But, like Coulson says, focus on what you can do not what you can't.

I give him a smile and say "Thanks AC. I really needed that." Once again he shows his soft side and says "Anytime Skye." The next few seconds are filled with awkward silence, really, really awkward...

"Sooo...Fist bump?" sometimes the best way out of an awkward situation is to be creative. Coulson stands there for a moment before nodding.

Despite the awkward way he hits my fist with his, things may be getting back to some sense of normal.

Seconds later, a beeping noise started coming from Coulson's desk causing the both of them to turn simultaneously. Walking over to his desk, he found that the noise was coming from the tablet that Skye had previously given him a few minutes before. Looking at the screen, Coulson saw that an unknown caller was trying to video chat; he did not recognize the number, so he picked it up turning it to show Skye. Immediately, she leapt into action, quickly she walked over behind his desk and opened his laptop. She began pressings the keys using the laptop to trace the number, while she did this Coulson waited anxiously for more information. He thought that perhaps it was General Talbot calling to intimidate them, or maybe it was Fury checking in to see how they are settling in. Soon he would have answers as Skye finally finished; she simply stared at the screen speechless.

 **Coulson**

I've only seen that look only once before; that look of confusion and shock is never a good sign.

She looks at me before spinning the laptop around; when I look at the screen that is when I realize why she has that look.

"It's coming from Stark Tower." she can't hide the surprise in her voice. Sometimes I forget that she's still so new at this.

Hopefully it's not Stark, that's last thing I wanna deal with at the moment. Looking at the tablet I tap the screen accepting the call; Maria Hill pops up on the screen and she looks less cheerful than last time.

"Hill, good to see you. How've you been?" can't help but make small talk; when it comes to Hill she just brings it out of me. "Been better, considering the current circumstances."

I can feel a smirk form on my face, "Well, I did tell you what Stark was like. You know my offer is still good, I promise to try to keep the sarcasm to a minimum."

She doesn't break character, just stares at me looking more serious than she did just before New York; if that's even possible, then this could mean big trouble.

 **Skye**

I can't believe it! The Maria Hill, Fury's second-in-command. I read her file, and by read I mean I hacked into Coulson's computer and looked at some classified personnel files without his permission.

From what I read she is one of the best SHIELD had, and from how AC talks to her, he seems to respect her as much as Fury. I'm curious as to why she's calling him.

"Sorry to call without a heads up, and I know that your still adjusting, but this situation requires your attention." she's determined, I guess you have to be when you're working for The Tony Stark.

"Don't know if you have noticed, but we're still getting up and running. Besides, we got enough on our plate; we still have to interrogate Grant Ward to see what else he knows about Garrett and Hydra."

Ward; even now with him locked up in his cell, his name still sends chills down my spine. Despite that, Hill has an avenger for a boss, why can't she just ask him to handle it.

"I know, but I can't go to Stark with this or anyone else. That leaves you." as she speaks I know that she's hiding something, and looking at Coulson he sees it too.

"Why? What is so secretive that you can't tell Stark or even Romanoff?" That's the AC I know, asking the hard questions giving her no leeway.

"It's about Dr. Streiten." that name, I know it. I can see his jaw tighten, the muscle tensing up; she definitely caught his attention.

"What about Streiten?" his tone was no longer calm. I have a feeling that I'm not going to like what comes next.

"Hydra has him. Looks like they're going to try and recreate GH-325." what she just said made my heart skip a beat. That serum saved my life, but it literally brought Coulson back from the dead and made Garrett insane.

Looking at AC I can tell he feels the same, as he tightens his grip on the tablet to the point where his knuckles start turning white. I have to help, however I can.

 **Coulson**

Damn HYDRA! It's bad enough that the serum brought me back from the dead and saved Skye, but it also made Garrett a delusional psychopath.

And perhaps I'm turning into one as well because of it. I will not let anyone else become like Garrett, like me. "Alright, we'll move on this right away. But we're still a few people down. Can you get a hold of Barton or Romanoff? Could use their help."

I can tell from the way she shifts in her chair what her answer will be. "Barton is busy, and Romanoff is off rescuing other agents; but I might have one more person to try. The Sword."

 **Skye**

"The Sword?" I didn't mean to just blurt it out like that, but it started to feel like I was being left out of the loop.

Coulson turned to me, looking calmer than he did before. "He was a specialist who worked for Fury. He was very good at tracking people who didn't want to be found." his words were smooth; he definitely knew the guy.

"He's also one of the best interrogators SHIELD ever employed." Hill chimed in a bit, but there was something about what she said that didn't add up.

Before I could ask my question Coulson turned back to her asking "You wouldn't happen to know where he is by chance?" I see him trying to be suave and it works apparently. Hill gives him a sly grin before saying "I'll send you his coordinates. And Coulson, be careful. He still doesn't know who to trust, or whose friend and who's Hydra."

He nods then says "Understood. Thanks Hill, I owe you one." This time she gives him a flirtaous smile "Yes you do. And Coulson...Good luck."

She disconnects, and he goes straight into first gear; he turns around and says "Get your gear, we leave in 15 minutes." He then presses the button to the intercom, and moments later good ol' Billy Koenig answers.

"Yessir Director, What 'ya need?" I like Billy; aside from him being a stickler for the rules sometimes he can be really cool.

"I need Lola fueled and ready to go, the specialized tactical gear loaded up, and all available files on "The Sword" ready in ten minutes." Billy doesn't hesitate, "I'll get right on it sir!"

Coulson presses the button once more, ending the conversation. He looks at me and says "Bring your laptop, and ICEr. I'll meet by Lola."

He walks over to the door; with my curiosity now peaked, I have'ta find out why I haven't heard of this "Sword" guy before. "Wait, AC-uh urm... I mean Director, what exactly are we doing here? Who is this guy anyway?" I can't believe I just blurted it out like that, but it couldn't be helped.

For all we know Dr. Streiten could be working for Hydra willingly. He stops, and turns around looking calm; he said "He's a friend. And he can be trusted."

Can't help feeling cautious, especially after Ward showed us his true colors, showed us his true loyalties. He knows exactly what I was thinking.

"He's not like Grant Ward. He can be trusted Skye." he tries reassuring me but I can't let myself be fooled, not again.

 **Coulson**

She's hurting, we all are, but Ward took more than just her trust, he nearly took away the only real family she's ever known. That's not something one gets over easily, especially Skye.

"I'm sorry, but I can't place my trust in someone I've never even met. Even if you vouch for him." as she speaks, I hear the pain in her words.

I want to give her the everything-will-get-better speech, but the truth is I don't know that it will. So for right now we just have to dig deep and find it within ourselves to continue doing what needs doing.

I walk over to her and once more I gently place my hands on her shoulders and tell her "You don't have to put your trust in him, just in me."

She looks up at me and I can see a glimmer in her eyes; she sees me as a father-figure, and she is like a daughter to me. With that mutual bond, she'd follow me anywhere and that's exactly what I need right now.

"Ok AC; I trust you." when she uttered those words, it felt like it did back then, back to when everything wasn't so topsy-turvy. I wish we could go back to that, but somethings can't be undone.

I let go of her shoulders and she begins to leave the room, but she stops when she opens the door. Turning to me, she flashes a brief smile and says "Thanks Coulson. I needed that."

I flash a brief smile as well, before she closes the door. Now it's time to see if "The Sword" is all for SHIELD, or a Hydra traitor. For our sake, I hope he's on our side.

 **2 hours later**

 **New York City, New York**

Normally it would have taken a no more than 45 minutes to get from their base to New York City using "The Bus". Unfortunately, it's currently in operational thanks to Garrett and his cohorts, but they did however have a quin-jet that Fury had so kindly stowed away at "The Playground" for safe keeping. It was currently in use by Agent May and Agent Triplett who were heading back from a rescue mission; Coulson had contacted May via a secure communication uplink that had survived Lola's "harsh" landing. While Skye read up on some files, he was telling his second-in-command May about the current situation; needless to say she wasn't very thrilled about the news.

 **Skye**

I've been sitting here for nearly an hour listening to May and Coulson. May stating that _You can't go to him alone, he might perceive you as hostile. He thinks that you're still dead._

Meanwhile Coulson says _We need all hands on deck with this, and..._ After a while I just tuned them out and focused solely on this guy we're looking for.

There's very little in his file, and by little I mean one page which gives a brief description of who we might be looking for.

 **DOCUMENT**

 **CITIZENSHIP:** **UNITED STATES** **TITLE:** **AGENT-LEVEL 7**

 **PLACE OF BIRTH:** **UNKNOWN** **HEIGHT:** **5'10"**

 **RACE:** **CAUCASIAN/ 0 8 4** **WIEGHT:** **210 ILBS**

 **GENDER:** **MALE** **HAIR:** **DARK BROWN**

 **DENTAL:** **NONE** **EYES:** **HAZEL**

 **LANGUAGES:** **MULTI-LINGUAL**

 **IDENTIFIABLE**

 **MARKINGS:**

 **FAMILY:** **PARENTS UNKNOWN - PRESUMED DECEASED**

 **EDUCATION:** **UNKNOWN**

 **CURRENT S.H.I.E.L.D.**

 **EMPLOYMENT: AGENT/ Contractor ALIAS: "The Sword"**

Why even have a file on him if they just have one page, I mean there could've at least put a blurry photo of the guy here, but nooo. Guess that would've been too much to ask for.

"Like I said May, this was time sensitive and the only ones available were me and Skye. We couldn't chance it by waiting." Looking up from the file and I see May standing in the cargo hold of the quin-jet, looking aggravated by Coulson's decision.

"I understand, but the least you could've done is brought Simmons with you; Jaxx and her have history, he trusts her." when May says that I immediately perk up. History? With The Sword? My mind begins to wander at what exactly that could mean.

Coulson's face cringed, "I know that, but I figured that one or more of the agents you rescued would need medical attention. Was my assumption wrong?"

He's always been good planning for the unexpected, well, except for the whole Hydra-Garrett-Ward thing, but not even Fury saw that coming. So there's no fault on AC for that.

I continue keeping quiet so as to not interrupt their conversation, which by the way was getting tense. "We managed to get 7, 4 of which need medical attention."

Seeing the look of confusion on his face meant that something was wrong and soon I found out why. "Intel suggested there was over 20 at the location? What happened?"

May looked away for a moment, and when she looked back I see a glint of agony in her eyes. "Hydra happened. Trip and I barely got these people out, the others weren't so lucky."

"You mean their dead?" couldn't help but to interrupt. Hydra nearly took everything, our friends, our trust; what more can they want?

"Some, others were taken; we tried Skye, but we were sorely outnumbered." May's words expressed how we all felt. Because right now, it's us against the World.

Coulson glances at me for a second before looking back at May on the screen. "Understood. Get those people back to base pronto. And notify Koenig, let him know that Simmons is going to be needed in medical for new arrivals."

Simmons, maybe this'll take her mind off of Fitz, even if it's only for a brief moment. "Will do Director. Something else you should know." Great; please please let it be good news for once.

"What is it?" his tone was no longer calm, it had a hint of concern within. May smirked briefly, almost in a flash it was there and gone "These agents wish to rejoin SHIELD, under your command Coulson."

Yes finally! Good news for once, I look over at Coulson but instead of seeing joy or some hint of excitement he just sat there, calm not even a smirk.

"That's great, we'll talk more when their patched and we're back at base. Til then, you're in charge." his tone was calm and neutral again; it's almost robotic how he does that, but he only does something like that when his mind is elsewhere.

May either doesn't notice this or doesn't care, because she just says "Understood Director. See you when you get back. Over and out." the screen goes black, and goes back into its hide away inside the stereo.

I'm not sure what's going on with him; it's almost like he's off in his own little world. So it's up to me to snap him back "Hey AC, are you ok?" He doesn't answer, just stares at the steering wheel in front of him, but once more I try "Heeellllllooo; earth to Coulson, are you there?"

 **Coulson**

Too late again. We should've gotten to them sooner, but I hesitated because I thought it might be a trap, just like the last time, and the time before that.

I hate the fact that we're always one step behind Hydra; hell for all we know Hydra has already gotten Streiten to develop a new version of the GH. 325.

And if so, I doubt it has the same side-effects that I'm experiencing; even this very moment instead of concentrating on the mission at hand, I keep thinking about those symbols.

That's when I hear a voice, albeit it sounds so far off in the distance, it causes me to snap out of it and back to reality; just in time too.

"Heeellllllooo; earth to Coulson, are you there?" I look to my left and there's Skye looking concerned. I haven't told her about the symbols; haven't told anyone for that matter, and even if I wanted how would I go about it.

 _Hey guys guess what? You know those symbols that Garrett was drawing before he went bat-shit crazy and tried to kill everyone? Yeah turns out that it might have something to do with the serum that was injected into Skye and brought me back to life. No big deal right?_

Yea that would go over well, especially with Skye and all her questions. I have to put it out of my head, for now concentrate on the mission at hand.

"What's up Skye?" that's the only response I can come up with? Well, let's hope that it's enough otherwise I'm totally screwed.

"What's going on AC? Everything alright?" her questions are often simple, but effective. I want to tell her what's going on, but it's not the right time.

"It's just...before Hydra I thought I knew who could be trusted and who was the enemy and now..." my words aren't completely untrue, so hopefully that'll get to focus on the case.

"I know what you mean, everything is just so..." she looks away trying to find the word to best describe this situation; "Confusing?" that's the word that springs to my mind.

She looks back at me and says "Complicated." I can't help but nod in agreement. What she doesn't know yet is that if Jaxx is with Hydra, things are about to become a whole lot more complicated.

 **20 minutes later**

 **Skye**

We've been sitting in this car for almost half an hour without saying a word. Knowing AC he probably likes the quiet, gives him time to think, but me; I always prefer a good conversation, plus I'm dying to know what kind of history this Jaxx guy has with Simmons.

"So...How exactly do you know this Jaxx guy?" Coulson turns to me, and I can tell exactly what he was going to say _It's a long story_.

"It's a long story..." I knew that's what he would say. I look away briefly and shrug before saying "Well, we've got the time."

He looks away just staring at the Ernie's Model Toy Shop across the street. He does give a grin before saying "Ok. What do you wanna know?"

Yes finally, ok now what to ask him first; I know, I'll start off with the classics and go from there. "Where did you two first meet?"

"Falusia, 04. His squad had encountered a 0-8-4 while on mission." His tone was calm and neutral as if he was reading it from a file folder.

"What was the 0-8-4? What did it do?" even I could hear the curiosity in my voice that time which means I'm sure he heard it too.

"The device cause massive hallucinations, and nearly destroyed an entire enclave of refugees and the squad itself. Somehow Jaxx was immune to the device and somehow managed to shut it down before anyone was seriously injured. Shortly after that Fury sent me to retrieve both the device for safe keeping and Jaxx."

This Jaxx must be one tough SOB to be able to defuse a situation like that, but I knew there was more to this story and I had to find out what.

"What happened after that? Did you recruit him for SHIELD?" shortly after asking he shook his head and replied "I questioned him about what happened and he was very forthcoming. He held nothing back and simply wanted to know if there was anything else he could do to help."

I think I'm beginning to understand this guy Jaxx; "So it was after that, he joined SHIELD." Once more AC shook his head no, then looked at me and said "Both me and Fury asked if he would like to join, but he refused."

He looked back at the shop across the way, then continued "He said he refused to leave any of his brothers and sisters over there to fight alone."

I can see a glint of respect in Coulson's eyes; he truly respects the guy, and who wouldn't. "So, what part of the military did he serve in?" Once again Coulson grin and replied "United States Marine Corps; Captain 1st class, Special Operations Armed Patrol."

His voice was still calm, but no longer neutral in tone. Instead you could hear the pride in the words he spoke; AC always did have a soft spot for those in uniform just like his all-time hero. The Star Spangled Man with A Plan, Captain America himself.

Looking down at the folder I retrace the information on the document, and in doing so I could feel Coulson staring at it as well. "You're wondering why he has hardly anything in his file?"

"Actually, I was wondering how come he gets a cool nickname like "The Sword". May has "The Cavalry" and this guy has "The Sword"; when do I get a cool nickname like that?" I'm joking of course, well, maybe only half joking.

Looking up I see confusion in his face, which made me a little confused too; that is until he said "Skye you have a nickname. Don't you remember?" What's he talking about? What nickname, I, I...

"Mary Sue Poots." did he just, pull a joke on me. He starts to chuckle and I follow shortly. It's nice to laugh again, it's been too long. "That's a good one AC. Ha ha ha."

"Actually I umm..." I've got to find a way to word this just right. "I have been wondering about why his file has only one page and uhh..." time for the big finisher Skye..."What is the history between him and Jemma anyways; I mean were they-"

"That is complicated. And that's best left for Simmons or Jaxx to tell." he cuts me off before I finish. Must be some serious history between Jaxx and Jemma, well if AC won't tell me I'll just have to beat it outta Jaxx. Joking of course because he could probably kill me with a thumbtack or something and crap I'm rambling on again.

"As for the file, that's the only copy that was at "The Playground" when we moved in. I'm sure Fury has another more detailed copy hidden somew-" He paused, this caused me to look at him only to see him looking intently across the street at the same shop.

This time however a man walked out of the shop and that's when I ask "Is that him?" Coulson doesn't nod; he simply says "Sure is. We'll follow him for a bit before we approach him. Don't wanna spook him if he isn't with Hydra."

I look over at him and can only think of a worst case scenario, and once more my mouth blurts out before my brain catches up "And if he is?" Coulson looks at me, his face stern his eyes almost cold when he says "Then we find out what he knows about Streiten. By any means necessary."

His tone felt almost devoid of emotion, I guess at this point he's had enough of playing defense to Hydra's offense; now it's time to play offensively.


	3. EP1 CH 2 Cause and Effect

**Disclaimer:** **Hey guys just wanted to let you know that I will be posting a new promo art for the beginning of each new episodic chapter.** **Also** **I do not own Agents of SHIELD, or any part of the Marvel Universe, just using it for my fanfiction. I own nothing but my own imagination and the OC's I create. Thank you for reading and give me your thoughts and reviews, do be kind.**

 **15 minutes earlier**

Ernie Ballow has come in early to work every day for the last 54 years and begins opening up the shop. He runs and operates Ernie's Model Toy Shop, a shop he himself started shortly after World War II. He always enjoyed working with his hands even when he was a little boy in Normandy; to him the hands were an artist's tool, and thus he did his best to keep his in pristine condition. During the war, he served as a medic and translator for the United States, but was later captured by German troops and thrown into a POW internment camp. It was here that he learned what the Germans were truly capable of in terms of torture and interrogation. He had been there through most of the war, that is until he and the others interned with him, were rescued by none other than Captain America and his Howling Commandos.

Ever since that day he has pledged his life not only to the United States, but to the S.S.R. as well. During his 13 years of service with the S.S.R, he found that he trusted few people within the agency one of which was responsible for his rescue, none other than Peggy Carter herself. She tried to recruit him for her new SHIELD agency, but sadly he refused and instead focused on being a husband and a father, therefore giving her his resignation. Years would pass and eventually his own children would come to serve SHIELD as would his grandchildren. Unfortunately during Hydra's rise against SHIELD, he not only lost his two sons and only daughter, but also nearly lost his grand-daughter as well if not for one man.

That is why like so many others before; he has been letting the man stay here in the loft above the store. He knows not where the man will go to next, or what he will do; all he knows is that the man called Jaxx saved his grand-daughter from the clutches of Hydra and therefore Ernie will be forever in his debt. He brushes away the curtains leading to the back, where he makes all the latest model toys for children and collectors alike. The room itself was pitch black, but not for long however as he turns and flips the light switch on. He turns to the table and is suddenly startled for a moment when he sees the man sitting at the table working on a clay model that had been barely started on the day before.

 **Jaxx**

"Sweet Je-you trying to give an old man a heart attack!" as soon as he says those words I can't help but smile a bit. I mean I don't like to scare him, but I've been here for nearly 3 weeks now; he should know that I don't sleep much and so I usually come down here and work on some of the pieces, plus I like the dark.

I stop carving in the wrinkles on the model and look up at him; he looks almost outta breath which makes me feel like crap, but only briefly. "Sorry bout that Ern, couldn't sleep again." Lately that's been the only constant.

He takes off his coat and fedora and places it on the hook just above the light switch. "You know the best way to get some sleep? Try closing your eyes for more than a few seconds. Does wonders for me." His sarcasm never gets old, but does get annoying sometimes.

"Hmmm, I might have to try that." My comment is a little light on sarcasm, which is a bit unusual. "Well…" he starts to say, as he walks over to the table, "Another thing could help you sleep, is lying next to a beautiful woman; in fact I know a certa-" I look back at him and cut him off.

"Are you seriously trying to hook me up with your grand-daughter?" after saying that he puts his hands up and tries to play innocent. "What? She's a nice girl, and I know for a fact that she has a little bit of a thing for you."

I shake my head before turning my attention back to the model and try finishing the wrinkles; I say under my breath "Wow!" sarcastically of course. He takes a closer look, but I can tell he doesn't see much due to the fact that he doesn't have his glasses on.

Looking outta the corner of my eye I can tell that he's squinting, trying to see, and I've noticed how stubborn he can be when it comes to his sight; fortunately for him he left his glasses here the night before. I hold them up in front of his face and jokingly reply "Here old-timer, these might help."

He snatches them outta my hand and puts them on, after which he nods and says "Ahh yes; much better. That's some good detailing. I've never seen such skilled work come out of a Marine before. Not bad."

I can't help but crack a smile, because I know that he's just hazing me; he grabs the other chair and sits down beside me, and somehow I know that things are bout to get serious.

"So, how much sleep did you get this time?" he sits there staring at through those thick-ass lens, the kind that makes his eyes 10x larger than they actually are; it reminds me of those old cartoons I used to watch.

I try concentrating on the model, not wanting to have this conversation again. While I remain silent, he gives me a heavy grunt before saying "Humph! So that's how you wanna play then huh?"

Great, now he's cranky; it's when he's cranky that he starts putting the pressure on me, so somehow I've got to defuse this before it starts. "I'm not playing old man. So I don't get much sleep, big whoop; what soldier doesn't have a hard time sleeping sometimes?"

He takes his glasses and tosses them on the table, which means my answer wasn't to his liking. "Don't give me that crap; you know as well as I do that it has nothing to do with your former life as a soldier. It does however, have everything to do with SHIELD; am I right?"

His words hit hard, like a punch to the face; so I finally stop working and place the sculpting tool on the table. Turning my attention to him I try once more to defuse the situation which has now become tense at best. "Look, I just…" damn. How can I tell him what's going on when I don't even know? 

"Look son, I'm not even gonna pretend that I know what you're going through or what's going on inside of that head of yours; but I will say this much. You can't keep running from it forever; sometimes you have to draw a line in the sand." He's one of the few people that I know, who won't bullshit you; it's one of the few aspects that I actually like about him.

I look down at my clay-covered hands and gently sigh. I ask him "And what if I have no idea what I'm running from? What then?" I look back at him only to see his eyes staring at me intently. It somehow felt like I was being analyzed by some therapist, which I don't care much for.

He grabs his glasses, folds the up, and puts them in his shirt pocket and says simply "Well, if that's the case; then you're screwed." That was not the answer I was expecting from him. I though he was gonna give me some sort of answer, not just saying I'm screwed; I mean hell even I knew that, tell me something I don't know.

He just shrugs and replies "What? You think just cause I'm old that I'm just filled to the brim with wisdom and knowledge. I only know what I know kid, anything else, go see one of them whatcha callits…hoodoo doctors." Once again, he successfully surprises me, and I can't help but grin once more.

"You mean a psychiatrist?" As long as I've known him he just can't help but call psychiatrists _Hoodoo Doctors_. He throws his hand in the air and says "Ahh, you know that whole profession is a sham right? Getting paid to listen to people's problems only to use made up words to describe what they supposed have? Humph, nothing but Hocum is you ask me."

Can't help but laugh a little, and as I shake my head I begin to feel a little bit better. He brushes away the curtain and says "I'll be out front." I lean back in the chair a bit and look at the ceiling. After a minute I take the sculpture and put it in the kiln letting it set in there for a couple of hours. I go over to the old leather sofa over by the staircase and I lay down.

Placing a hand behind my head I can feel my eyelids getting heavier and heavier until they are finally closed. I begin drifting off to sleep, and the last thing I say to myself is "Maybe today won't be so bad after all." And then there was darkness…

 **2 ½ hours later**

 **Jaxx**

When I open my eyes I'm pleasantly surprised by what I see. The first thing is the massive ocean in front of me, splashing up on the shore of the beach where I lay on a comfortable chair. The ocean itself shimmered as the sun rises to high noon, during which I begin to feel the warmth of its rays.

I don't remember how I got here or even where here actual is, but frankly I don't give a damn. I continue to lie there, and decide to close my eyes once again, only to be interrupted by a familiar face.

"Beautiful isn't it?" my eyes snap open and I look to my left and there she is lying right next to me on a beach chair, Maria Hill. Although I've never seen her wear a sexy black and white striped beach two piece swimsuit like that, which means I must be dreaming.

I turn away letting out a heavy sigh, after which I say under my breath "Damn!" I'm pretty sure she heard that because she looked over and said "Now, now, that's no way to be."

Even in my dreams she's a pain in my ass, why the hell is she even here. The least she could've done is shown up with no top, at least then I- "Sorry Jaxx, maybe next time." How the? Did she just? Duh Jaxx, it's a dream, of course she can hear your thoughts you dumbass.

"Now he gets it. Took you long enough to figure it out." Looking over and seeing her just lying there basking in the sun's rays making sarcastic comments. So I let out a sigh then reply "You know, I expect this level of sarcasm from Natasha, but you Maria…tsk, tsk, I expected more from you."

She lets out a fake laugh then says "Mmmm Romanoff…yes she is a firecracker that one. And yet she seems to be AWOL and I'm here instead, now why is that Jaxx? Still have some unresolved feelings for little ol me?" This dream just went from relaxing to just plain pain in my ass; I look away and readjust myself in the chair, after which I say "Are you here to tell me something or are you here just to piss me off?"

She looks over and replies "I'm just here to catch some rays; you're the one who dreamt up this whole beach vacation dream sequence." She then points over to me and says "He on the other hand…"

I look to my right and I see Ernie standing there, wearing his red sweater vest over his turquoise sleeved-shirt, and brown slacks with his black loafers. He lifts up his right foot, trying to shake away the sand; that's when he starts in on me and says "Seriously…you have any idea how hard it is to get sand outta these things. _Oui_ , you couldn't have dreamt of a walk in the park, besides look at ya. You're way too pale to be out in the sun; you know what's gonna happen don'tcha?"

I close my eyes hoping that this dream as an ending to it at some point; maybe I can have the Hulk drop in and- "Don't even think about it!" They both say it simultaneously that's it's actually a little freaky. When I open my eyes I notice that Ernie is now focused on something else or more accurately someone else.

"Hello there and who is this lovely beach goddess here?" He walks over to Hill, giving her his charming smile and even more charming words. She smiles and replies while holding out her hand "Maria." He takes her hand and gently kisses it and says "Ernie and it is a pleasure."

She giggles; as I look over I'm starting to get a little creeped out by this whole thing. She continues to smile as Ernie once again turns his attention back to me. "Where have you been hiding her huh? I don't know how you do it or how these beautiful women put up with you but…you certainly know how to pick."

THAT'S IT! I'm done with this, I quickly stand up from the chair and turn to him and ask "Ernie…what the hell is it?" He looks at, all confused and says "What's what?" I let out a heavy sigh and say "Ernie!" He throws his hands up in the air and says "What a friend can't stop by and say hi and meet the woman of his dreams?"

I shake my head and say "She is not-" she chimes in before I can finish "Don't have an aneurism Jaxxy." I take in a deep breath, then I gently place my hands on Ernie's shoulders and say "Ernie…Did you have something to tell me or not?"

He nods saying "Ok, ok fine. I have a very important message for you and it cannot wait." Finally we're getting somewhere, "Ok, what is the message?" That's when I notice Hill leaning back against her chair, to which she says "This is gonna hurt."

Huh? Before I can even register what she says I look at Ernie who tells me "Time to wake up!" he then smacks me across the face. That felt real! It's then that I open my eyes only to see the old man standing over me staring.

I gently rub the left side of my cheek, which still tingles, and then I look at him and ask "Did'ja just smack me?" He stands there looking innocent and asks "Does your cheek hurt?" I give him a nod which only lets him reply sarcastically "Then yes I smacked you. C'mon get, there's something you need to see."

I slowly sit up, still a bit drowsy from the dream, but Ernie isn't a very impatient man. I'm lucky, he couldn't done more than smack me to wake me up…I'm just glad he didn't pull out the ice water again. He waits in the doorway holding the curtain, "I'm sorry did I disturb you're slumber. Hurry up!"

Something's got him riled up; he's not usually this grouchy. I quickly stand and follow him out to the front of the store and that's when I noticed that all the blinds in the windows were shut. I continue to follow him to one window where he just barely lifts a space between the blinds.

"There." He points to a car parked across the street; a red 1962 Chevrolet Corvette, it's license plate reads 381 PCE. There are two people inside the vehicle; a young 20' something woman with long dark brown hair, fair complextion and actually kinda cute. In the driver's seat was a man I recognize all too well.

"How long they've been out there?" no time for jokes, only direct questions from here on. Ernie replies quickly "2 hours. They haven't move, or attempted contact. They here for you I take it?" I nod before saying "Well, I'm pretty sure they're not here to place a order."

I knew I'd eventually have to leave here, and to think I was just getting used to the old man's charm. I turn and he to me and says "You know, it is about rush hour." I shake my head before looking back out, "No…I wanna know what it is they want exactly and who they really work for."

I look back at Ernie who starts to rub his scruffy beard, until he looks at me and that's when I can tell he has something up his sleeve. "You know…" He lifts his left sleeve up and takes a gander at his watch, then looks back at me and says "It is almost lunch time. Besides I need to lock up shop for a bit; gotta go run some errands, pick up a few things."

Can't help but grin; I know what he's planning, and it's a good plan. I look at the clock above the backroom doorway, then back to him and say "Say…45 minutes for break." He grabs my coat from the chair behind him and tosses it to me, then replies "Sounds good. It'll be ready when you get back."

He may be old, but I'll give him this much; old age hasn't dampened his guile. As I open the door I give him a nod and he nods back as I close it; whatever happens now, I have to make sure that it doesn't blowback on him. The best way to let you're prey think that they are hunting you is to simply pretend that you don't even know that they're there. It's the best and easiest way to control what they do without tipping them off. So as I begin walking, I have to fight the constant urge to just run for it. So for now, I take a nice 5 minute trek to the one place where I know have the advantage.

 **5 minutes later**

There are very few people in the world who can say that there is no such thing as being too cautious; Jaxx is one of those few. Being cautious and trusting his instincts is what got him through the war and it is also what made him a great tracker and hunter. Knowing when and where a target was gonna be moving, knowing their patterns, and especially how to lure out ones' prey as well. In some instances, the use of live bait was needed to coerce the prey to come out of hiding. And sometimes, the hunter becomes the hunted; Jaxx knows this, which is why he is using himself as bait in order to get his prey to follow him.

He stops at the cross-walk and waits for it to turn green. As the light turns green the cars come to a stop, he crosses over and walks into the diner. Picking the booth closest to the door, he sits down placing his back to the door. Jaxx knows that this could leave him open for an attack from behind, but he also knew he had to continue playing the fool no matter what. It's a big risk to take, but he is confident that they will take the bait.

Meanwhile Director Coulson parks the car just down the block and shuts off the engine as he watches Jaxx carefully; from first glance it appears that he has no idea that he's being followed, and yet the situation just doesn't sit right with Coulson. His companion, Skye, knows that something is off too, she can feel it.

 **Skye**

Something about this doesn't feel right. A.C says this guy is essentially a bad-ass, and that he's been trained by the best, but he doesn't act like it. He doesn't seem to know we're following, hell he didn't even check. Could this all be some sorta act? No one could be that good…could they?

Looking at A.C I can tell that this situation doesn't sit right with him either. He's looks around suspiciously, as if he's expecting trouble; "So, what's our next move?" I look back at the diner briefly to see _The Sword_ chatting up the waitress. He must be flirting with her cause I can see her laugh and twirl a strand of her hair around her finger.

Hearing no answer from Coulson I look back at him only to see that he's just staring at this Jaxx guy. His lower lip twitches a bit, and I've gotta say that I've never seen that before. He reaches into his inner jacket pocket and pulls a pair of earwigs.

He hands me one and says "Here. We'll stay contact with these." I gently place the wig in my left ear and drape my hair over it. He then says to me "Open the glove compartment and get me the box." His tone is neutral again; nevertheless I open the glove compartment, pull out the box and hand it to him.

Curious, I ask him "So what's in the box? Is it some sorta super, secret spy gadget thing?" Coulson opens up the box and pulls out a…is that what I think it is?

"Is that a-" he nods and says "Yep, limited edition WWII Captain America action figure. I've had it since I was 5; it's one of the few things that I've kept in mint condition." Sometimes I forget how much of a fanboy A.C is when it comes to Captain America.

"It's a toy A.C." the minute I say that he turns to me and gives me a look like I just snatched his ice cream away or something. "It's not a toy. It's a limited edition action figure, with highly detailed paint job and hand brushed shield. Only 500 were made and I've kept this one in near mint condition." Jeez, I didn't think he'd go all defensive on me. "O…K." nothing else left to say really.

He gets outta the car and I follow suit but not before grabbing my messenger bag. I swing the shoulder strap over my head and we meet at the front of the car and as he places the "Limited Edition Action Figure" back in the box. I ask him "So what; is he a collector too or something?" He shakes his head and replies as he closes the lid "Nope. He just fixes them. Besides, I wouldn't give him an item this valuable."

He holds the box tightly in his hand; guess that figure must mean a lot to him. "So how valuable are we talking here?" He looks back at the diner in time to see 3 construction workers walking in; "Close to $500,000." WHAT THE HELL! That toy is worth more than my van, holy shit. He drops the box on the ground and I'm a little shocked that he did that. He then proceeds to stomp on it and I can hear the toy break under the force of his shoe.

Looking down at the crushed box, I can barely find the words, yet I somehow manage to say "WHAT THE HELL A.C?!" He picks up the box and begins dusting off the shoe print he left on it. Looking at his face I can see his lower lip curl a bit, indicating that he hated doing it.

He looks at me as he hands me the box, then says "Had to be done. Here." As I take the box, I can hear the pieces of what was once a limited edition toy worth over half a million dollars rattling around. Now even more confused, I ask "What am I supposed to do with this?"

He turns away and replies "He thinks I'm still dead. Which leaves you, but don't worry, I'll be listening the entire time." I take turns looking at him and the box; he looks at me with a reassuring expression as he says "Don't worry; he'll be able to fix it." He sounds so sure; there was just one problem.

"How am I supposed to convince him to fix it?" He gives me a grin and says sarcastically "I'm sure you'll think of something." Greaaaat, now I gotta use my charm in order to get the guy to fix a half-million dollar toy that Coulson broke. Fantastic. Ok then…time to go play spy.

 **Coulson**

I don't know what I hate more; letting her go in there alone with no backup, in order to find out if Jaxx is in fact on our side. Or that I just destroyed my near-mint condition World War 2 Captain America action figure. I'd say it's 50/50.

Still, as I get back into the car, I can't help but wonder that something about this is off; I know Hill wouldn't send me or any other my agents into a trap yet that's what it feels like. It's like we're stuck in the crosshairs, with no way out.

Or maybe it's just my nerves, because right now I feel like a father watching his daughter going off to her first day of school. Except this school has a highly trained and lethal former Marine as a classmate. What could possibly go wrong?

 **Skye**

Ok Skye you got this. My first undercover mission I was nervous as hell; it took everything I had to keep myself from shaking out my dress. It feels different now; I feel ready for anything. I grab the handle and push the door open; as soon as I'm in I walk past where Jaxx is sitting and take a seat in the next booth.

I lay my messenger bag on the table and try to get a better look at this Jaxx fellow. I barely get comfortable when the waitress stops by to take my order. "Hi there, the names' Mary. Here's the menu and would you like anything to drink while you decide what to eat?" her tone is so freakishly nice that I'm a little taken back for a moment.

"Umm, I'll just have a coffee, black with two sugars." I put on a somewhat sincere smile, as she writes down my drink order. After she finishes writing she says "Not a problem hun, I'll be right back with your coffee." I say "Thanks." And she nods and walks off to get the coffee.

Now have a chance to study _The Sword_ ; my first impression is that he doesn't really look like a Marine. His hair is dirty brown, he holds himself well, and he's kinda cute; I can see why Simmons would have history with someone like him. There is something familiar about him though, but I can't place it; it's something about the way he just sits there all stoic as he takes sips from his cup.

Mary the waitress comes back with my coffee and says "Here you go. So what has you visiting the big city? Here to catch a glimpse of Iron Man flying about?" been there done that besides today is probably not the best day for sightseeing anyway.

"Um, no; as cool as that would be I'm not here for that. I came to here to get my uncle Phil a birthday gift. It cost me a small fortune, but he's worth it." As I finish I get a strange feeling that Coulson is out there, sitting in Lola, smiling a bit.

She places a hand on her hip and asks me curiously "Really? Aww that's sweet. Whatcha get'em?" I open up the bag and pull out the box, and then I reply "Well, my uncle is a huge Captain America fan. I mean stalker-ishly huge fan." I sense that I'm gonna pay for that one when we get back to the Playground.

I stop briefly in order to build the anticipation, "So I managed to find collector with a bunch of Cap A stuff that he was willing to sell. And that's when I bought him…" time for lure. I open the box and the moment she sees it I can tell I got her hooked.

"What the- Nononononono." after my dramatic finish I see Mary placing her hand over her mouth in shock; that's when I know that I'm totally pulling this off. Maybe I should've been an actress, but this is a lot more fun. She lowers her hand and says "I'm so sorry hun."

I kinda feel bad, fooling her like this but it's for the greater good. Still, telling myself that doesn't make me feel any better. "I spent over 5 grand for this. I had to dip into make college fund to pay for it." Ok so I left out a few zeros, so what no big deal.

As I drop my head, as part of my act, she places her hand on my back and begins gently rubbing it while trying to sympathize "Damn, that's just…wait a minute; I think I know someone who can help." That's it, my plan is working; maybe I should be Director of SHIELD, but I'm not gonna tell Coulson that. "Unless it's a pro-bono lawyer I don't think anyone can help."

She gives me a reassuring smile and says "I have someone better. Hey Jaxx!" We both look over at him a Mary catches his attention, and as he looks over at us curiously I can't help but wonder; is he really this gullible or is he just playing?

 **Jaxx**

When I hear Mary call my name, that's when I see the girl. She's kinda cute, still I have'ta wonder what her angle is exactly. However, I'm supposed to be unaware; that I don't know about her or her friend watching me outside, which means I gotta play bait for a little longer.

I get up outta my booth, grab my cup of coffee and walk over to the girls. I put on my best _Aww shucks_ expression because maybe just maybe, I can get this girl to let down her guard. So I stand there taking a sip of my coffee and ask curiously "What's up Mary?"

She gives me a flirtatious smile and replies "Well Jaxx, this here is…I'm sorry I didn't catch your name?" the girl smiles at me and I can't help but grin; she says "Skye." She then holds out her hand and I gently take it; using my charming personality I say "Pleasure. So what can I do for you ladies?"

I already know of course, I mean I heard the whole damn conversation, I only pretended to not listen; of course now that means I gotta hear about the whole conversation all over again. It's one of the downsides of the whole spy verse spy crap.

"Well long story short; Skye hear bought a gift for her Uncle and it turns out it's busted all to hell. Do you think you can use your special touch and fix it up for her, honey?" Mary just can't resist flirting with me every time I come here. Never really understood why, but I return the favor nonetheless.

"Sure, I can take a look. May I?" I signal to Sky if I can sit across from her, to which she eagerly nods. Placing my cup of coffee off to the side she hands me the box. It's a disaster of a scene; this figure is damn near destroyed and in pieces, but still, I can fix it.

Mary places her hand on Skye's shoulder and says "I'll be back in a few to take your order hun. And don't worry, you're in good hands." The girl looks up at her and says "Thanks." Mary winks at me before she walks off to serve the other customers, and leaving me with the lovely Sky.

Now it's time for the dance; the part where both spies, who in this case are me and Sky, use our guile and charm to try and get information out of the other. I've never been particularly fond of this part. "So what happened here?" I ask with a sincere tone even though I don't really care, but I am curious as to how she's gonna play it.

She takes a moment to think before answering, "Well, it's like I told Mary, it was supposed to be a surprise gift from my uncle, but now…" I nod, pretending that I believe her, even though everything she saying is nothing but a heaping load of crap.

From what I can tell, the only thing that she has told the truth about so far was her name. Taking out the broken figure slowly piece by piece and I lay them on the table in front of me. That's when I look up and see those eyes those big, dark brown eyes of hers.

They are almost hypnotic, so much so that i lose my focus briefly "I…uhh." Damn I'm fumbling around like it's my first day of basic training, and I'm sure she's noticed. Just gotta get back on track, gotta focus.

"Everything ok, you look a little-" yep she's noticed, now what? Well, guess I can always play into those eyes of hers. "Nothing it's just…I've never seen such gorgeous brown eyes like yours before." I didn't plan on just blurting that out like that, but apparently she liked my comment because she started blushing.

"Wow, that's uh…that's very nice of you to say, thank you." her smile isn't fake this time, it's genuine. So I give her a genuine smile in exchange, but now I gotta focus and put attention back on the figure. "So, yeah; this figure is busted all ta hell, but I believe I can fix it."

She seems somewhat taken back by my answer, like she wasn't sure what to expect, which is why she said "Really?" I give her a nod as I grab a napkin from the dispenser on the table. She then leans in and asks me "So what, you going to perform and operation on it or something?"

I shake my head reply simply "Not much of a surgeon, but I do know a thing or two about magic." Her eyes widen a bit and she slowly nods "So you're gonna put a spell on it huh?" with that comment she left the door wide open for my sarcastic reply "Well my spell worked on you, so I'd figure I give it a shot on the toy." Her expression was half shocked and half amused when she replied "Wow, that's a mighty bold statement there."

I shrug and reply sarcastically once more "Well you know what they say, go bold or go home. Which is why I also have to ask; if I'm able to fix this, what's it worth to ya?" Time to see if she's gonna break and fold.

 **Skye**

Wow I gotta say this guy is good, he certainly has a pair on him and he did catch me off guard with the gorgeous eyes comment; still I'm better at this than he is. "What did you have in mind, Jax?" He leans back against the seat, and then like something outta of cheesy romance movie he says "Well, when, not if, when I fix this toy; you let me take you out to dinner."

I lean back against my seat and let him stew for a bit before answering "Ok, IF you can fix it; I'll consider letting you take me to dinner." I give him one of my patented smiles and he gives me one right back. He nods, then begins unfolding the napkin and placing it over the toy.

Now I'm curious, and start to wonder what he's planning, so instead of waiting to see I decided to ask "What're you doing?" He just starts waving his hands over the figure like he's Chriss Angel or something trying to bring it back to life. He then places one hand on the figure and holds the other one out.

Ok, even more confused now that is until he says "May I have your hand please?" now I'm nervous, and I know that it shows. So I give him my hand and he gently places it on top of his other. He holds my hand there; I didn't know that his hands were so smooth…DAMNIT SKYE FOCUS! Don't lose your concentration.

He then leans in real close; holy crap is he gonna kiss me? And if he does how am I supposed to explain it to Simmons if and when she finds out? It's too late to back out now so I lean in close too and I slowly begin to close my eyes and wait anxiously. "Are you with them?" his words snap me back to reality.

"Wha-what?" I couldn't be sure of what he said, but as I look into his eyes, he uses them to signal behind him. "Are those 3 men sitting at the counter with you and your partner?" Damn how did he know! It's ok Skye, just keep playing it off like you don't know what he's talking about.

"I don't know wha-" but he cuts me off before I can say another word and says "I know you've been following me since the shop which why I led you here. There's only one way in and that's through the front door. Now I'm guessing that you're working with what's left of SHIELD, which also means that the guy waiting outside in the red corvette is your partner. So now I need to know, are those 3 construction guys SHIELD as well?"

SHIT! The ops been blown, yet he hasn't hurt me either, only his grip on my hand has tightened, but not enough to hurt. Either he doesn't wanna do anything in front of all these witnesses or because he really doesn't wanna hurt me. Guess it's time for a little honesty, "Ok yes, I am with SHIELD and yes that is my partner outside, but those guys are not with SHIELD; I swear to you."

He looks directly into my eyes, like he's peering into my thoughts to tell if I'm lying. That's when a grin comes over his face and he says "I know. They're not with you, they're with Hydra." WHAT!? Looking at the 3 men I begin to see the subtle signs, like the fact that they're clothes are covered in dirt and dust but they're boots are squeaky clean. And the fact that they have a bulge in their lower back, which means that they either need to see a doctor or that they are packing some heat.

I turn my attention back to Jaxx who doesn't break eye contact. Before I could even ask how he knows that they're Hydra, he leans in a bit closer and whispers into my left ear "There's an alleyway up the block and to the left from the diner. Meet us there in 5 minutes." How'd he know about my earwig? Who the hell is this guy? He leans back a bit and whispers to me "Now we're going to leave here because I don't want any of these people getting caught in the crossfire. Ok?"

I give him a nod, letting him know that I understand. He leans back and gets out of his seat and I quickly follow; he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a $20 and leaves it on the table. I grab my bag and he grabs the toy, soon after he swings his arm around my shoulders and we begin walking out. I hope A.C. is right about him, cause right now, if Hydra is here, I really, really need him to be on our side right now.

 **Coulson**

Damn! Should've known that Hydra would come looking for either me, or Skye; but how did they know where we were going to be? We didn't even know we'd be here until a few hours ago…Unless, they're not here for us, which means that, they're here for Jaxx.

I see them walking out of the diner, looking like a regular couple just out for a stroll; I can tell from here that Skye is nervous by the way she's walking, and not 8 seconds later the 3 disguised Hydra agents follow close behind them. Right now they think that they have the upper hand, but unfortunately for them they don't and I really feel like busting some Hydra heads.

Putting the key into the ignition I turn it to start it up only to hear Lola not kicking over. I turn the key again and it's the same; looking back up, I can barely see Skye or Jaxx until two people take a left down an alley with three others following suit. C'mon, C'MON! Don't do this to me Lola not now. On the 3rd turn she finally started up, and I make my way into traffic, only to be force to stop because of a red light.

This is not good, not good at all. C'mon, hurry up; turn green damn it! After about 15 seconds it turns green and I gun it, and as I come up on the alley I park it across the street. Reaching under my seat I pull out my Icer and hide inside my jacket. Quickly I get out of the car, shut the door and race into the alley, ignoring the oncoming traffic and the honking that came with it.

I hope I'm not too late, and as come to the corner I take cover and pull out my pistol. Cocking back the slide also cocks back the hammer and I ready myself; I turn the corner and see that I'm already too late. There lying on the ground, Hydra agents two of which were only unconscious while the other 3…wait a minute. Where did the other two come from?

I walk closer for a better look; the other 3 were definitely dead, most likely their necks were snapped. When I look up to see Skye standing there panting, I'm relieved and glad she's okay. After a few seconds I turn my attention to Jaxx who is using a bandana to wipe some blood off his knuckles. I look back at Skye and she looks at me saying "A.C; we're all good." I tuck the pistol back inside my jacket; as Jaxx looks at me, I watch as a shit-eating grin goes across his face as he says "Hey Phil long time no see; what, did you stop to help an old lady cross the street or something" He's still the same sarcastic ass that I knew, and though his sarcasm is close to par with Starks'; you just can't argue with the results.


	4. Ep1 Ch3 A Debt to be Paid pt1

**Disclaimer** **: Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that this chapter is shorter than previous ones. Sry for that but future chapters will be longer I promise. Thanks for the follows and favorites. Again I own nothing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe except my own imagination and of course…my OC characters. Enjoy.**

 **1 minute and 26 seconds early**

 **Skye**

I can't believe this-can't we go one day without dealing with the heaping pile of crap that is Hydra, is it too much to ask for? It was supposed to be a simple mission; find "The Sword", see if he's with Hydra or not, and bring him in, it's supposed to be that simple. So far this simple mission has gone from a piece of cake to a total cluster—okay-take a breath and just calm down Skye.

Ya can't let Jax see you get all nervous, especially since I still have no idea if he is with or against Hydra. Hell-this whole thing could be some sort of trap. Because as far as I know, me and Coulson are the only two people left that still have the original GH-325 still in our blood. This could be their way of getting it.

"Just keep it up. Let'em think that we're just out for a stroll." He seems so calm. It's like he's not even worried about the Hydra goons that are following us knows; or maybe he can that I'm nervous and he's just trying to help me relax. Either way, I've got no choice but to follow his lead, at least until Coulson comes to the rescue.

I look up at him and smile-like I'm just some ditsy out of towner who's fallen for his big city charm. I swing my arm around his waist to make it look more convincing to the goons following us. He looks at me and smiles like I do, and leans in close to my ear once more. "That a girl. We're gonna take a left up here, into the alley, where there's no civilians. Ok."

I gotta say-if he is a Hydra agent he's a damn good one. I think he's even better than Ward is or was at least. But still, there's something about him that makes me think that he isn't with Hydra; I can't quite put my finger on. I just-feel like I can trust him not to hurt me, but I can't rely solely on how I feel and I certainly can't trust…not yet at least.

As we nearly reach the alleyway, I turn my head to the right a little-it's too tempting to turn around to see if they're still following us. "Resist that temptation. Just keep your eyes forward or on me." How did he…? Did he just read my mind?

"I know it's tempting to look but trust me-they're still following us." Ok, so he didn't read my mind at all, he's just more experienced than I thought. It's a good thing too-cause otherwise this whole thing would be really awkward he could read my mind, especially what I was thinking about him at the diner.

He leans in close enough once again and I begin to feel his warm breath on my ear; it feels kinda weird-but also kinda exciting at the same time. "What level agent are you?" he asks. And once again I'm brought back down to reality, "Level 2, but after this I'll probably be demoted back down to a level 1." I try joking around a bit-my way of trying to ease the tension, but he doesn't seem to be affected much.

"Okay; and what's your combat specialty? Hand-to-Hand, pistol, knives…" he's continuous barrage of questions is starting to get a bit annoying, but I understand why. He needs to know what I'm capable of, but since I'm not sure of his intent I decide to fib a little. "Some hand-to-hand, mostly pistol." He looks at me once again, giving me a fake smile as we turn into the alleyway; no turning back now.

Before I realize it, he grabs my hand and we both start sprinting, that is until we find that we've enter dead end alley. I look around hoping to find some way out, but all I could find is an old fire escape off to the right and what I hope is just a giant rat running off behind some old beat up steel trash cans.

There is no way up to the fire escape as the ladder seems to be mysteriously missing. He looks behind us, then back at me and asks "You have a weapon on ya?" I pull out my Icer which I had hidden inside my bag and showed it to him; he tilts his head a little and says "Hope you're a good shot."

We both take cover against the wall…wait a sec. He doesn't have a gun, or knife or any kind weapon for that matter; well, I hope he's as good at hand-to-hand as he thinks he is. I take the strap of my bag and swing it over my head, lying it down on the ground behind me. I pull back the slide of my Icer, which cocks back the hammer in the process and I wait anxiously for the action to start.

 **Jaxx**

She seems a bit anxious but prepared nonetheless; I'm guessing she's seen more action than she's letting on. It doesn't matter-I've gotta focus. I can hear 3 different footsteps coming closer as well as-SHIT! How'd I miss the other 2.

I look behind us and up just as the first guy appears on the fire escape. "Sky-fire escape!" she quickly turns around, and fires off two shots both hitting the guy square in the chest. The guy slams against the wall before falling forward and flipping over the railing. Damn-her reaction is faster than I thought. I hear a familiar sound as the guy lands awkwardly on his back.

His neck must've snapped from it impacting the ground; the sound was further amplified as it echoed off the brick walls. I look over at the girl and I can tell she heard it too-her face told the whole story. She didn't mean to kill him, I can tell that much. She hesitantly lowers her gun a bit just as the other man quickly appears-filing out an open window and he fires 3 shots.

She flinches with each bullet that impacts the brick wall behind her-shooting fine mortar dust onto her dark brown hair. She isn't firing back at him, she just froze. I kneel down, picking up a pebble which lay next to my feet, and took aim at my target. Hey, I've worked more with a lot less.

I throw it just hard enough to hit him in his right eye causing him to hold his now bleeding eye. He also drops his gun which clanks against the metal railing before falling to the ground. Sky finally recovers taking a knee before taking aim once again, and firing 3 shots into his chest.

He slumps over the railing, his arms dangling down; she lowers her gun and stands back up, leaning against the wall. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. I glance at her weapon hand in time to see it start to tremble. He must've been her first actual kill-the first is always the worst and it never gets easier.

She opens her eyes and looks at me-her expression quickly tells me what I need to know as she quickly raises her weapon. Before she has time to fire, I quickly do a roundhouse kick, connecting to someone's lower jaw. He flips and spins through the air before landing excruciatingly hard on his side.

Someone grabs the collar of my jacket, but I quickly take his wrist and twist it. He quickly lets go just as the other guy throws a fist at my face. I use goon I already have to block the thrown punch-the guy wrenches his head as he uses his free hand to hold his nose. I place a kick in the blonde goons' stomach just before I swing the other around-planting his face into the brick wall.

He falls to the ground wailing in pain as he held his now bloody nose-serves him right. Mr. Blonde gets up and reaches into his jacket, possibly going for a gun or a blade-I'm not about to let him get the chance to use it. He wasn't expecting me to leap towards him so quickly, but I grab his shirt collar and toss him against the wall.

One head-butt to his face and he quickly drops whatever he was going for. I place one foot on his chest, then I fall backwards and using the momentum I throw him far enough that he hits the wall opposite. I roll over onto my stomach in time to see him lying on the ground. That should've been it, until I heard the distinct sound of a hammer cocking back. Looking to my left I see the blonde has Sky in a choke hold with a gun to her head. "Slowly…" he says, as blood runs down outta his now broken nose.

 **Skye**

Damnit! I should've kept a better grip on the gun and made sure Mr. dye-job here was really out. Now he's got me in a choke hold and my gun pointed at my head; lucky for me it's an Icer, but still I don't have any idea wait it would do to me at close range. Jax just looks at me, calm and collected-he doesn't even look exhausted at all.

I look over at the other guy, who looks completely trashed and pissed. He cracks his knuckles, getting ready for some payback; I look back at Jax who still looks calm-he looks at the guy holding me hostage and ask "Ok, just take it easy. Alright…Can I ask one question?" WHAT! Really! Now he wants to ask a question?

The thug tightens his grip around my throat; I can't help but reach up clinching his denim jacket. "What's the question?!" he spittles out some blood, which almost hits my cheek. Jax looks at me and says "Sky…What comes after L?" Huh? What kind of…then I remember-he smirks at me before winking. I smile a bit as I reply "Bow." I goon looks at me-loosening his grip on my throat a little. "WHAT?" he asks, guess it was time to show him.

With every bit of strength I have, I swung my arm downward, landing my elbow between his legs. His grip around my throat quickly loosened as he clutched what's left of his family jewels with both hands. I lift his head up just a little, and then I bring it down onto my knee with enough force to rebreak whatever is left of his nose. He falls to the ground unconscious-that's when I turn to Jax who is about to get rushed by the last goon standing.

I spring towards my gun and took aim only to see Jax doing a roundhouse catching the back of the goons' skull behind his knee. Once he had him on the ground he clinched up and twisted his whole body just slightly, but it was enough. The sound of his neck snapping pinballed around the alleyway-I couldn't help but twitch a little as he did it.

He released the goon and slowly got to his feet-he just stands there, staring at the lifeless body which lies at his feet. I lean against the wall, sucking in air as if it were my last. I lean forward and start massaging my neck- "You OK?"

I look over to see him no longer staring at the corpse-instead he was walking towards me. He gently touches my chin and lifts my head; I wasn't expecting him to be so concerned for my well-being and to be honest, it feels a little strange.

"I'm good. Thanks." He let's go of my chin and that's when I notice his bloody knuckles. I take his hand without thinking, "You're hand…" I inspected his hand, trying to find the source of the blood. "I'm fine…" he says as he slowly pulls his hand away.

He reaches into his back pocket and pulls 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000out an handkerchief, using it to wipe the blood off his knuckles. "It's not mine." His behavior has changed, like he too wasn't expecting me to be so concerned which, I'm not…really, much. Where's Coulson when you need him?

And just like that he comes around the corner, his Icer aimed, his trigger-finger poised. He looked disappointed when he saw that the action was over and done. He lowered his gun, looking at me, concerned. "You good?" he asks. I nod, saying "We're good." I look at Jax then back at Coulson who seem to have locked eyes.

For nearly a minute the two of them simply stood there, staring at each other-neither one showing any hint of emotion. "Jax," Coulson says, Jax lifts his head up a little before replying "Coul, been a while." A.C starts walking over to him, passing by one of the few goons still left groaning as he slowly stirs.

He kept his eyes on Jaxx as he fired a shot into the stirring goon, who now lays unconscious. Coulson offered his hand, which Jax took; "Glad to see you haven't lost your touch." A.C smirks, as the two shake hands before giving each other a hug. "And you still know how to make an entrance I see." The two of them share a chuckle, like they were the best of buds.

As he holsters his gun he looks around at the dead and unconscious goons which littered the alleyway. "A bit excessive don't you think?" Coulson jokes. Jax chuckles a bit "You said the same thing on that Tijuana job, remember?" Coulson looked a perplexed; meanwhile I'm standing like a newb, in awe of their conversation.

"They still have your picture up in that bar y'know." Jax grins from ear to ear. Coulson's face looked surprised as he said "Really?" he couldn't hide the shock in his voice from Jax or me. The two of them share a laugh as I continue to stand there, wondering what our next move should be.

I clear my throat, which seems to get their attention long enough for me to say "Yeah, sorry to break up this little conversation you two got going on, but," Coulson quickly realized what I was going to say, he was now in "Director" mode, meaning that the time for reminiscing is over.

"You're right," he states. "Jaxx we need your help finding someone. A Dr. Streiten, formerly SHIELD. It's possible that Hydra has him and are using him to-" Jax holds up his hand, interrupting A.C is never something you want to take lightly.

"I know." He says calmly. Both me and Coulson lock eyes for a moment, sharing a confused glance. "There's something I need to show you…both of you, but first," Jax looks around at the bodies that were littered around us, "We need to clean up."


	5. Ep1 Ch3 A Debt to be Paid pt2

**Disclaimer:** **Once again,** **I do not own Agents of SHIELD, or any part of the Marvel Universe, I own nothing except my own imagination and OC's I create. I know that the action is a little slow at the moment, but I assure you that it will pick up soon. Thanks to all who are following and favorited this story, and drop a line if there's something that you misunderstood or if I got something wrong, just let me know. Thanks…**

Coulson agreed, and looked over at Skye, just standing there staring at the lifeless Hydra agent who fell over the railing; he was unsure of what exactly transpired but could tell that she was shaken. Jaxx suggested that Coulson and her go retrieve Lola while he took care of their new friends. While the two of them went to retrieve the car, Jaxx used the now bullet-ridden dumpster nearby to easily dispose of the 2 deceased Hydra. Coulson backs the Corvette into the alley, just as Jaxx finishes securing and gagging the remaining three men. 15 minutes later they were out of the alley and on their way back to the shop.

They had left the 3 remaining albeit unconscious Hydra agents tied up in the alley; using Coulson's secure cellphone, Jaxx had placed a call to a couple of old friends just before they left. These old friends were more than happy to help him out for the fact was, they too wanted a little payback against Hydra. After they were sure that they weren't being tailed, they finally arrived at the toy and model shop; Jaxx tells Coulson to park Lola around back so as to not draw any unwanted attention. Once there, he parks and shuts off the vehicle. The three exit and follow Jaxx over to a brick wall; he leans against it, looks at them and smiles. Coulson and Skye give each other confusing looks, before looking back at Jaxx.

Using his elbow, he pushes in just a single brick; the sound of old-rusted gears slowly turning echoed as a hidden passageway suddenly opens up. One would figure that after everything Coulson and Skye have experienced within the past year that nothing would surprise them, but the looks on their face said otherwise. Jaxx walks inside and down the cobb-webbed covered stairs into the dark tunnel below. Once more Coulson and Skye give exchange soulful looks, afterwards Coulson descends into the tunnel as well. Skye hesitates, gripping the strap of her bag tightly still unsure if Jaxx could be trusted, but she was sure of one thing…he knew something that they didn't.

She takes a step inside, then another and as she reached the 3rd step the hidden door begins to close; she and Coulson turn, the light shining on their faces possibly for the last time. A thin slither of the outside narrowed on the left side of her face, until it finally disappeared when the secret entrance closed shut. Surrounded by darkness, it was impossible to see anything much less where everyone was. Then, the sound of an old-worn out lever being pulled seemed to bounce through the darkness until moments later light shined once more. The two agents looked around, seeing a line of old mining lights strung on the wall, leading further down the tunnel before them.

These agents exchange looks, both seemingly just as confused as the other with neither willing to admit it. They look at Jaxx who jerks his head in towards the tunnel, shortly after he began walking down this decades old tunnel. The other two slowly follow suit, walking behind him cautiously, still concerned for the unknown that waits for them. After walking for a few minutes Jaxx finally stops in front of an old steel reinforced door, like the ones used on submarines and battleships during World War 2.

He knocks on the door rhythmically; one knock, then three more in quick succession, then another two more drawn out knocks. Seconds later the wheel handle on the door begins to spin counter-clockwise rapidly, and then suddenly stops. The door creeks open just slightly; Jaxx places a hand on the door, flashes a grin, and pushes it open further. With the door wide open, the two cautiously step within; as they look around for a moment feel as though they have stepped through a portal and went back in time to the early 1940's. Before they could even begin to wrap their heads around what this place was, the distinct sound of a shotgun cocking stopped everything like a bolt of electricity.

The two agents slowly lifted the hands, raising them into the air; the look in their eyes as they glanced at each no longer showed any hint of concern as fear took its place.

 **Coulson**

I hate when this happens. And it always seems to happen to me; aw well, nothing I can do about it until he gets closer with that shotgun. "Don't move." He says; I wasn't planning on it…not yet anyways. "Now, turn around slowly," as he says that I can't help myself.

"Which is it?" I don't give much time to respond before I finish "Don't move or turn around, we can't do both." Sarcasim is how I usually defuse situations like this, but from the look I see Skye giving me; maybe now is not the best time for it.

"Oh so we have a wise-ass huh?" from the tone in his voice I don't think I'm making any friends here. "Ernie, put that down before you hurt yourself." There's Jaxx to the rescue, just like old times. The steel door creaks as he closes it, spinning the wheel causing it to lock.

Skye and I slowly turn around, only to see him still pointing that pump-action at us. Jaxx turns his head, and lets out an exhausted sigh "Ernie! Put it away will ya." He stares at the elderly man, who looks back at him, bewildered and grumbles "Relax, kid; it's full of rock salt. Besides how was I supposed to know you were bringing company over huh?"

He lowers the gun, and walked over to the large cloth-covered table in the center of the room. He lays the gun on top of the table, reaches into his pocket, pulling out a cell phone. "How's bout next you give me a heads up…that way I don't end shooting-"

Jaxx put his hand up, interrupting the man, "I sent you a message old man." The guy flips opens his phone and looked at it; shaking his head he fires back, "No you didn't." Jaxx drops his head, shakes it and asks "is it even on?" The old guy is offended, he scoffs at him. "Of course it's on, do you think that I don't know how to work one of these damned-"

The man pauses as he fidgets with the phone. It's obvious to everyone in the room that he doesn't know how to use it properly, and becomes clear as day after he smacks it against the corner of the table. I turn to Skye and couldn't help but crack a smile. Jaxx snatches the phone away from him, presses one button, turning on the phone.

He handed it back, who looked at it bewildered and perhaps a little embarrassed, "Oh. The battery must've been low or something." Jaxx crosses his arms, replying that "It's fully charged." The old man looks at him, irritated and mouths something; something that I'm pretty sure wasn't Yuck Fou.

Jaxx just smiles at him, proud that he managed to get one over the old man. "Alright, alright. If you're done picking on the old guy, how's about you introduce me to your new friends here, huh?" the old man grumbles, Jaxx shakes his head and says "This is Director Phil Coulson, and agent Sky. S.H.I.E.L.D."

I hold out my hand, he takes it and has quite the grip for someone for his age. "Pleasure Mr…" had to ask, because I don't know anything about him besides him being easily annoyed, doesn't know much in the way of cellphones, and his name is Ernie.

"Ballow, Ernie Ballow." He quickly lets go of my hand, just as Skye reaches her hand out to greet him. "Skye." Mr. Ballow gently takes her hand gently kisses using his charm says "Pleasure ma'am." She flashes him a smile as he lets her hand go.

Turning to Jaxx, sarcasm in his tone "And that's how you greet guests my young friend." Jaxx rolls his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh.

 **Skye**

Ernie and Jaxx could have their own late night sitcom. They both annoy each other, which I'm sure it's just a front. "Can we please get back to the job at hand?" Jaxx sounds a bit more annoyed than before and as much as I would like to see this back-and-forth old couple bickering thing continue on; we still have a mission left to complete, and a scientist to rescue.

Ernie throws his hands in the air, surrendering to the topic of conversation "Alright, fine; no need to get cranky, jeez." He picks the shotgun back up and my heart starts to race; can't help but hold my breath, waiting for what's coming next. I see Jax grabbing a piece of the cloth and jerks. Years of dust just shot up into the air, which causes me to sneeze "Bless you." A.C says, which I reply "Thanks A.C."

I rub my nose a bit, pushing back another sneeze. I regain what composure I had, and that's when I notice that the table wasn't really a table at all. It looked like the interactive comms room table on "The Bus" only older, more bulky and you can clearly see various wires, cylinders, and tubes underneath its glass exterior.

Ernie leans to one side, shortly after I hear something click and the table lights up…for a second. Ernie looks at, confused, then reaches for the switch again. He clicks it a few times, each time nothing happens, which is when the frustration gets the better of him.

He gives it a hard kick to the side, and like magic it was alive once again. Back when _The Bus_ actually flew, the comms table had the emblem for SHIELD as its screen saver. This emblem was just an eagle, no circle outlining it, and had the words Strategic Scientific Research. Wait a sec…I've heard that somewhere before, but where?

Ernie smiles as he lifts up his hands and states "Welcome campers, to the last remaining, and semi-functioning S.S.R operating center." Coulson looks just as confused as I am at this point. "That's not possible." I blurt out. Ernie drops his hands and looks at me.

"So you say…and why is that exactly?" I can hear the annoyance in his tone; however Coulson knows the facts, which he's more than willing to explain "Because, all SSR facilities were either decommissioned or folded into other SHIELD programs. And all those facilities were put on file." Coulson's tone is smooth and neutral, like he rehearsed exactly what he was going to say.

"Not this one Coul." Jaxx looks up and over at Coulson, who stands tall folding his arms across his chest. "And why is that exactly?" A.C tilts his head a little to the left, which usually means he's curious for an explanation. Jax looks over at Ernie, who now has his arms folded across his chest and says "Because they wanted it that way, that's why."

 **Coulson**

Just when I thought I was gonna get a straight answer, they make things even more confusing. And from the look on Skye's face I'm not the only one who's lost. "Who are "they" and why would they wanna keep this place off the books? And why didn't Fury tell us about this place?" I need to know why this place is so special, and why Fury kept it a secret.

"Well to answer your first question," Ernie walks away, heading towards an old filing cabinet. He opens it up and begins rummaging through some old file folders, "They are the founders. The originals." The founders…wait, he couldn't possibly mean-

"Who are the founders? Founders of what?" Skye cuts of my train of thought, but I knew the answer even before Jax says "Founders of SHIELD." She and I both look at him, while the old man continues rummaging through those files. I see the disbelief washing over Skye's face, hell, I'm finding this all hard to believe. But I know Jaxx, and he wouldn't lie, not about this anyway, it's too big.

"So what you're saying is that the Peggy Carter and the Howard Stark built this place?" I'm sure she meant to sound less shocked, but some of this is still relatively new to her. Jaxx shakes his head, replying that "They didn't build this place, they just kept it hidden from, well, everyone."

"Why would they do that?" Skye seems to be asking the questions that I should be, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole place. I mean, it looks like the inside of a time capsule; and everything in here has been kept exactly like the 1940's. It's just so, nostalgic.

"Well young lady, this place has a unique history, one that they wanted to keep private." Ernie snaps me back from my thoughts as he lifts a file out, but quickly drops it back down and continues searching. "What kind of history?" I only ask because I'm curious as to why the founding members would want this place kept secret.

He lifts out another file, looks at it for a minute, and pulls it out, shutting the cabinet. He walks back over to the table and tosses a file in front of me. It had the old SSR symbol on the front cover, as well as the words TOP SECRET stamped across. I open the folder and see the cover page, my eyes immediately focus on the only two words on the page.

It can't be, it's just not possible; can this really be where it happened, where it all began. "Project Rebirth." I didn't mean to say it aloud, it just kind of blurted out. "What's Project Rebirth?" I'm a little surprised when Skye asks about it. Would've figured it would've been the first file she read when we got to _The_ _Playground_.

Jaxx just smiles at her, "Ever heard of Captain America?" the look on her face, well, the best word to describe it is…priceless. The look of both shock and awe on her face, haven't seen that since we jumped out of _The Bus_ in Lola. "Seriously!?" her voice seemed a little more shriekish than she originally planned.

 **Skye**

Okay that was a little more shriekish than I would've wanted, but seriously, Captain freakin America. I'm just a little surprised that Coulson isn't getting his fanboy on right now. He is Cap's number 1 fan after all.

But he just stands there, reading through that file like he's just reading it for the first time. Only after he finishes reading the last page does he actually say something "According to Fury's files, this place was decommissioned shortly after Captain Roger's enlistment and all copies of this file," he sets the file back down on the table "Were supposed to be destroyed."

Jax leans on the table, with a look of contempt plastered on his face. "All copies on Project Rebirth were destroyed." Ernie flashes us a grin as he grabs the file, "However, this place was doctored from all files before they were destroyed. But this one is one of only 4 originals. It belonged to Peg herself." NO WAY! "Peg? Did you know her?" He must've if she let him call her Peg.

 **Jaxx**

"Actually little lady, I was the first person she talked to about joining SHIELD." Even as he says it, I can't help but wonder if Ernie is joking around; if not this is the first I've heard of it. Guess we all have secrets that need keeping.

The look on both Coulson and Sky's faces are priceless; it's been a while since I've seen anything shock or amaze Coulson, the guy's almost like a robot. "So, you were with SHIELD; with Agent Carter and Howard Stark?" she's curious to know more, but we're running out of time; but I also know that if I interrupt one of Ernie's old war stories, he'll be even more irritated with me. It's best to just wait this out.

"Actually, I never joined SHIELD." I'm a little shocked by his answer, but the other two seem to be even more shocked than I am. I recognize the look on his face, that same look he has when he's about to ask a very elaborate series of questions.

"Why didn't you join SHIELD?" guess I was wrong. "Well, I had a family to look after; a wife, children, and I'm very good with the whole spy thing. Plus," He leans in closer, like he's gonna whisper something, "Howard Stark, was a complete ass. Couldn't stand him, thinks he's better than everybody else." I can't help but chuckle a little bit, and apparently everyone heard me.

"Let me guess, he took a pass at your wife." Starks are all the same, they'll hit on any woman married or otherwise. "That's completely beside the point." Ernie sounds a bit more annoyed than before. While he's giving me a look like he's irritated at me, Sky smiles briefly before she drops her head to try regain some level of composure.

"Not that I'm not interested in hearing some more stories of Howard Stark's infamous philandering," leave it to Coulson to ruin a good time, "But why exactly are we here, and what does this have to do with our current mission." Well, guess it's time to get back on mission, "Because it's secure for what we need and this…"

I tap the screen on the table but nothing happens; everyone looks at me, wondering what exactly I'm doing. I tap it again and still nothing happens; this is embarrassing. "You gotta tap it gently kid." Ernie's trying to help, but it's just not working. "I did tap it gently, it's just-" Ernie cuts me off before I get a chance to finish, "No, you gotta tap it gently like this-" he taps the screen and it just goes black.

He looks at it bewildered and confused, I however just look at him and sarcastically say "You have to tap it gently." He looks at me and looks about as irritated as I expected. "You, broke it." What!? "I broke it?" he nods and replies "Yes. You broke it." Now I know he's just trying to aggravate me, still… "How the hell do your figure that?" I know exactly what he's gonna say, _You hit it too hard, that's how_.

"You didn't tap it gently, I mean for crying out loud you damn near punched a hole through it the other day." He's right of course, but still it's not my damn fault that- "As much fun as it would be to continue watching this, episode, we still have to find Dr. Streiten and figure out what Hydra knows about…" she suddenly stops, and looks over at Coulson. She's trying to hide the main reason they're on this mission in the first place. Unfortunately, I already know what that reason is.

"About GH.325." she turns back to me, shocked about what I just said. Coulson on the other hand manages to keep a straight face, showing no hint of shock at all. Which is why, I will never play poker with the guy. I let out a sigh before explaining "Fury told me all about it. The serum, Tahiti, everything; including, what it can do and what it did for you two." They give each other a strange glance. They weren't shocked to hear me say Fury's name; guess they knew Fury was alive as well.

"GH.325 is that name of some sort of band or something?" leave it to Ernie to ask a question like that. I turn to him and say as much as I can about the serum. "It's a type of medicine, one that if Hydra were able to replicate; it would be trouble, for everyone." He knows I'm not telling him everything and I can see it in his eyes that it pisses him off. But he also knows that the less I actually tell him, the better of he is.

He nods and continues to listen; I turn back to Coulson, who looks like he's finally getting a clearer picture of what's actually going on here. "So it must of been you who called Hill for help. And she sent us looking for you" I don't say a word, just give a nod letting him know he was on the right track. I look up at him to see a grin flash across his face, "I bet that was awkward, huh?" Coulson knows better than most that my history with both SHIELD and Hill is, rocky at best.

"Yes, yes it was." That's all I was really going to say on the matter, until I see in the girls' eyes a glint. "Why would it be awkward?" I knew she would ask, "It's complicated. Look, I needed a team on this and with Romanoff and Barton out rescuing former SHIELD agents and such; you were my next best choice."

Coulson looks at Sky, then back at me; he doesn't take personally that he was my second choice on this mission. "Fair enough. So, where do we start first." Straight to the point is Coulson's style. I give him a brief smile, stating "Well, from what Fury's told me; he was hiding out in a house outside of Maine when he was snatched by Hydra. Police have it sealed off; they think it was a home robbery gone wrong."

Coulson nods, "It's as good a place as any to start. I'll get a hold of Hill, see if we can't borrow one of Tony's planes for a while." Sky looks at him surprised, "You wanna borrow one of Iron Man's planes?" he looks at her, shrugs and says "Why not? He's got, like, 20. I'm sure he won't mind." Damn. I was really hoping to save it for another day, but we're losing time here and we'd lose even more time waiting for one of Stark's planes to just drop in our laps.

"Actually," they look at me, wondering what I'm gonna say. "I, uh…" Coulson eyes widened, he knew what I was going to say. "You still have it?" I nod, his eyes narrow a bit "I thought it wasn't functional? Last I saw of it-" "We'll I've fixed it up. It's a little old fashioned but it'll get the job done and we'll be there in an hour. Two tops." He seems impressed, while the girl once again looks confused.

"What are you guys talking about do – do you have a plane?" she asks, and I can't help but tease her a bit. "Well…sort of." She looks at her boss, more confused now than she did before we got here. Well, let's just hope she gets un-confused quick because we don't have any more time left for her to play catch up.

The next few minutes move quickly, almost in a blink. With the exception of Ernie the shop owner, the others gathered what they needed from the bunker. Coulson and Skye informed May of their next course of action; she insisted on tagging along for the next phase of the mission, but Coulson convinced her that she was needed there at The Playground to runs things while he's in the field. After which, the two of them went through all the files in the bunker, trying to find any sensitive or significant information.

Meanwhile Jaxx gather all of his things from the guest room above the shop, which mainly consisted of a duffle bag full of clothes and a pair of fake ID's. He talked with Ernie for a little while, thanking him for letting this ol' worn-down marine stay in his guest room. They shook hands, even gave one another a hug upon which Ernie whispered into his ear "Be careful out there kid." Ernie was one to always worry about the well-being of his friends, but if he knew anything about Jaxx, he would know not to worry for him, but for his enemies.

The drive to the Jaxx's plane would take about 2 hours, due mainly to the fact that it was way off the beaten path and it was a private airstrip owned by a long-retired Air Force pilot, whose son was once saved by Jaxx during his time in Iraq. Since that day he was more than willing to "Look after" a few things here and there, including a stash bag full of cash and other amenities after SHIELD fell; which he would also soon collect, along with the plane.

The ride itself wasn't really thrilling; mainly Coulson asking how Jaxx has been doing since everything went to hell and him explaining how he's been rescuing those still loyal to SHIELD with the help of Barton and Romanoff. Skye stayed silent for the whole ride, barely even listening to their back and forth conversation. She mainly kept reliving a certain moment; the fight in the alley. It kept playing in her head over and over again, like a film reel stuck on a loop. The Hydra agent appears seemingly out of nowhere, firing at both her and Jaxx. She squeezes the trigger, firing 2 shots from her Icer; as the shots hit her target square in the chest she feels relived. That is, until he slams against the brick wall, and instead of collapsing against the wall, he stumbles forward. What came next was like a never ending nightmare; he flips forward over the railing, and everything seems to slow down. He falls slowly through the air, seemed like hours when he finally hit the ground, landing neck first. The eerily snapping of bone and cartilage against the hard concrete; the last moment she saw was of the man lying lifeless where he landed, the eyes were cold, void of any spark of life. She had never killed anyone before, well, not anyone outside the occasional video game that is. She'd never seen the light in one's eyes slowly extinguish, but the image of the man's lifeless face, blood running out of his nose and mouth, continually haunts her. No matter how many times she tries to put it out of her mind, it keeps coming back.

They finally arrived at the airfield, where Jaxx was greeted by the retired Air Force Colonel, and his son. Jaxx shook hands and introduced them two Coulson and Skye. After a little chat, the three of them walk over to the hanger where his plane is stored. He unlocks it, taking the rusted steel chain of the door; Jaxx then smiled to himself and swung open the doors. Coulson appeared to look both shocked and amazed at what was in front of him right now. He only ever heard of it through water cooler gossip, it wasn't even supposed to exist, but then again; one could say the same thing about Captain America, or Thor.

Skye was a little wearier than Coulson was, for she knew nothing about this bulky thing parked right in front of her. She wasn't even sure what exactly it was supposed to be, but she did know one thing. Both Coulson and Jaxx knew what it is and what it did; she was determined to find out as well.

 **Skye**

"What the hell, is that thing?" maybe I should've been paying attention to their conversation in the car, but I couldn't help it if my mind was elsewhere. "It's an Iron Wing VX-32. Designed and fabricated by Howard Stark." Ok firstly the name sounds pretty cool, a little retro, but cool. And secondly, that still doesn't tell me exactly what it does.

"So what, it's just a transport plane or something?" when A.C turns and looks at me, the expression on his face tells me that I might've hurt his feelings or insulted him by calling it just a transport plane. "It's not just a transport plane," he says. Jaxx drops his head, sighing "Here we go," he knows all too well about what's coming next and so do I; the extra detailed and extra-long explanation as to why this is no ordinary plane.

"This plane as you call it, has three duel-propulsion jet engines, faster-than-sound travel, and highly dense metal alloy frame similar to those used on submarines during World War 2." Okay then. "So, not just a transport plane, huh?" please god no more. I've learned my lesson…well, not really.

"So this is like, the very first Quin-jet or something?" Coulson doesn't seem hear me; the _Iron Wing_ has his full and undivided attention. He reaches up and slowly runs his hand across the wing of the plane; he usually only does that to Lola. "Sort of," Jax answers, "It's considered the unofficial precursor to the modern day VTOL's." Strangely enough, I actually know what a VTOL is and what it stands for. "VTOL stands for-" I cut Jax off stating "Vertical Take Off and Landing, I know."

He looked impressed by the fact that I knew that. He grins a little, "Very good. Anyways, he wanted to create an aircraft that had the durability and the takeoff capabilities of a chopper, but the maneuverability and speed of a fighter plane. And so, the Iron Wing was born." See, that's all I needed to know, so why couldn't A.C just say what he said? It would've been much simpler.

A.C turns to Jaxx, a puzzled look on his face, "Where did you…How did you find this?" that's something I'm curious about too. "I found it during my second tour in Iraq. It was being stored in an old abandoned bunker just outside a small village; some of it was in pieces, others were still boxed up in crates. The plans were inside one of the crates." Jax tells.

That's an interesting story, but it still doesn't explain how it got here in the States. So, I ask "But, how were you even get it back here, I mean…" I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I'm going "Why didn't the military confiscate it, or SHIELD for that matter?" Bam! Let's see him explain his way outta that. He looks down briefly, then back at me and answers.

"Because, I never reported it to the Brass." Not exactly the answer I was expecting from him, in fact I don't even know how to respond to that. "Why didn't you report it?" but apparently A.C does. He looks over at the Director, then walks over to an old tool box kept in the corner of the hanger.

He kneels down, blocking me and A.C from seeing what he's doing, but we did hear the lid of the toolbox being opened. I reach for the Icer that's in the swoll of my back, lifting it up just a bit. I glance over at A.C who seemed to know what I was doing; he shakes his, telling me that he wants me to keep my weapon holstered.

I hate defying A.C like this, but at this point we can't take any chances, especially with Hydra in play. I'm just standing here, waiting anxiously for Jax to make his next move. Hearing him close the lid on the toolbox makes my even more anxious than before which is why I slowly cock back the hammer of my pistol and tighten my grip.

He slowly turns around, that's when my heart starts beating faster and faster, preparing me for what I might have to do. When I see him looking down at a small red leather journal in his hands, I let out a sigh of relief. I un-cock the hammer and slide the pistol back in my jeans. I pulled my shirt down and over the gun, which helps hide it from prying eyes.

Jax walks over to A.C, who looks about as confused and unsure as I do right now. Jax holds out the journal, "This is why," from his tone, it sounds like he's been holding on to this secret for a while. Nowadays, who here doesn't have secrets worth keeping.

Director Coulson took a moment to read through the journal for which Jaxx had kept for so long, and in the process Skye became curious as well and stood shoulder to shoulder with her surrogate father-figure. The journal itself belonged to Howard Stark, in it he speaks of both the ease and difficulty of building such an aircraft as the VX-32. He had wanted to build it out of a metal element called Vibranium, but was only able to procure a small amount; which was later used as the primary weapon for none other than Captain America.

As they continued to read the final few pages, they soon understood why this aircraft was never mass-produced. Howard's revelation was that, like many of his creations, this too could one day be used as a weapon of mass destruction. So, he deconstructed his newest creation and shipped it off to someplace where it would be kept out of the hands of both the military, and those who would seek to weaponize it. After closing the journal, Coulson understood why Jaxx had kept it from both the military and SHIELD. Skye started to feel as though she beginning to understand Jaxx both as a man and as a soldier. She still wasn't fully certain that he could be trusted, but then again there would always be some bit of lingering doubt about his true intent. However, he had just earned not only her gratitude, but her respect as well.

It took Jaxx a few minutes to get the aircraft started, hell, he only just about finished it less than a week ago; he had yet to take it for a test run, before everything else started happening, but there was no time for practice run. Coulson and Skye loaded up Lola and locked her into place before they strapped themselves in for what would certainly be the ride of their lives. Jaxx explained that they could arrive at the objective in little more than 2 hours, it would have been less than 30 minutes at Sonic speed, but he had yet to fix that part of the engine drive yet.

All lights were green, everything was up and running which meant it was showtime. He pushed the throttle forward and within seconds they were off the ground, now all they had to do is wait; waiting around was never one of Coulson's strongest suits, and luckily he wasn't alone. He looked at his watch and let out a sigh, before saying in an exhausted tone "One hour and 55 minutes to go. Is it too soon to ask if we're there yet?"


	6. Ep1 Ch3 A Debt to be Paid pt3

**1 hour and 47 minutes later**

Much to Coulson's surprise, the Iron Wing VX-32 was a lot smoother flyer than he would've thought; especially with it being of a late 1940's design. Jaxx proudly explained that he had made some modifications to the original design of the plane, like adding some fluctuation dampeners allowing for a much smoother ride; as well as a thermal cooling unit to help keep them off the military's radar. Coulson had always admired Jaxx's mechanical expertise, so much so that he was tempted to have him take a look under Lola's hood, once this whole situation was settled down a bit. For most, it was a privilege to even look at her, but a chance to work on her; that was truly an honor for besides himself, Coulson trusted no one else to tune up his ride. As they're conversing continued, it was "The Director" who noticed that something was out of place; he felt as though, something was missing from the conversation…or someone.

He looked behind him and saw her, Skye, sitting there without saying a word, staring at the spot on the floor between her feet. To his knowledge she had never been this quiet, ever, in fact she was usually quite the opposite; she always had something to say, and is always willing to speak her mind. Always wearing her emotions on her sleeve, and to him it was actually refreshing; usually he dealt with May's inability to open up, or Trip's calm and cool attitude. But now, she's so quiet, so distant; he knew something had her distracted, and as his eyes focused on her face, he recognized the look of agony. Whatever conflict she was feeling at that moment, he was determined to find out the cause.

 **Coulson**

She's been sitting there for nearly 2 hours, burning in the floor with her stare. Something, I don't know what, happened to her; it's hard to watch her go through such agony, such pain, and not know how it happened. Hopefully Jaxx can shine some light that. I turn to him, "Jaxx," I lower my voice enough to where she couldn't possibly hear me. Jaxx looks over at me, "Sup Coul?" he didn't lower his tone, and for a second I turn back to her, and she's still phased out. I turn back to him and ask "Did something happen that I should know about?"

He turns to me looking unsure, like he didn't understand the question, though I know he did. I tilt my head to the left, signaling him to look behind me. He turns, and sees her sitting there, just a few seats down the aisle, staring at the floor; he recognized that look on her face as well, and his expression went gaunt. He knew something, the question is what, he later turns to me he asks, "Do you remember your first?"

Huh? What? My first-where exactly is he going with this, "By first you mean…" he scoffs at me "Not you're first time Coul, get your mind outta the gutter; I'm talking about your first kill. Do you remember?" Oh I see, glad we cleared that up, and suddenly it all becomes plain as day; "How many, out of the three?" a simple question, though I suspect that I already know the answer. He leans back, and readjusts in his seat, "1; the other two were mine."

In our line of work there are two types of agents. The first are those like Garrett and Ward, who don't flinch when taking a life, hell there's probably some part of them that even enjoys it. But the other one, are those who are willing to take a life, but not lose themselves in the carnage;

The old adage remains true, it states that the first kill is and will always be the hardest. Skye isn't like them she wasn't trained to be a ruthless cold-blooded killer; I'd like to tell her that it gets easier, but I promised her that I wouldn't lie to her. And I keep my promises.

I glance back at Skye once more. "You gave her the talk right?" he catches my attention and I look over at him. When I don't answer he glances over at me, "You, did give her the talk, right?" "Which one; the birds and the bees or where do babies come from?" Couldn't help myself, sarcasm is my better half and from the look he's giving me, he half expected a sarcastic response.

"FU-UN-NY. But seriously Coul, ya'know what I mean..." Thanks Jaxx. Way to change the subject from a light-hearted to dark and ominous. However, he is right; I never did talk her about it, about what it would be like. I guess I just wanted her stay the same for just a little while longer. I mean, sure I've been busy trying to rebuild SHIELD from the ground up, as well as fight a never-ending war with Hydra, and not to mention fighting the urge to carve those strange symbols into anything I could find. Still, there's no excuse, I should've made some time.

"I'll take that as a no. Well in that case," he glances behind him at Skye, then back to me, "If you want I could talk to her.?" This is new. I must admit, I'm a little taken back. And for a moment, I'm almost at a loss for words…almost. "Sure appreciate it." He unbuckles himself, but I quickly grab his arm; he looks at me, perhaps a little confused, and I say "Just be nice. No flirting with the junior agent, ok." He gives me a look, like I insulted him somehow; he lets out a scoff and replies "I'm always nice…And no promises on the flirting thing."

Now I'm the one with an irritated look on my face, as he flips a couple of switches, putting the plane on auto-pilot. He shimmies out of the seat and walks cautiously down the aisle towards Skye. I take this time to look around before it hits me; it would've been nice of him to ask if I would like to fly; granted I'm-no, no, NO! Those damned symbols again, and here I thought everything was going so well. Closing my eyes don't help, as I see them there too. Even on the window in front of me I can see them, and that's when I remembered; my knife is in my pocket, all I have to do is…NO! I've gotta stay focused. Just gotta block them out, just for a bit longer…

 **Skye**

It's like a damn movie reel in my head, one that's stuck on a loop. He appears outta nowhere, firing at me and Jax; I fire three shots, he slams back against the wall and flips over the railing. Why can't I shake it? "How's it going kid?" Jeez! Put a freakin' bell on will ya, you sneaky bastard. Damn near startled me outta my seat, I can't believe I didn't notice him just hovering over me. "This seat taken?" he points to the empty seat to my right, "Have at it." I say, giving him a shrug.

He sits down beside me and leans back, laying his head against the top of the metal frame of the seat. He doesn't say anything, nothing. He just sits there staring up at the ceiling, after a while, the awkward silence starts to get to me "So," I say, trying to break the ice "How's everything going up there?" he closes his eyes, taking in a deep breath before saying "Fine, just fine. We'll be landing soon." I nod a couple times even though he doesn't see it.

Once again, the awkward silence starts creeping in, so naturally "Sooo…How's A.C doing? Is he getting all fanboy over riding in Howard Stark's prototype jet?" he opens his eyes, and lets out a heavy sigh. When he lifts his head up and turns to look at me, I force a smile out into the open, but I don't think he's buying it. "No; in fact, he's more worried about you at the moment. And frankly so am I." Wow, ok, wasn't expecting that, which kinda throws me off my game.

I take a moment to regain my composure, and try to throw him off "What do you mean? Why is he worried about me?" that's it girl, you've got this. He looks me in the eyes, he doesn't even blink, "You know why? What happened, back in the alley?" damn! How'd he know, and for that matter how'd Coulson know? It doesn't matter Skye just, keep focused on the task at hand here.

"What about it? I mean, I'm fine I'm doing just fine; no need to worry bout little ol' me." He stares at me for a few seconds, after which he leans forward, turning his gaze to the empty seat across from him. I think he's buying it. "You're a terrible liar." Or maybe he's not. "What are you- I'm not-" He interrupts me, saying "It never gets easier."

Ok, not sure what he's talking about, but "What'ya mean? What never gets easier?" He looks up at me, and that's when I see a sort of, sadness plastered over his face "Killing someone. It never gets any easier. Not even a little. Some can handle the cost that comes with it, while others" he looks away "Not so much."

There's a hint of pain in his voice, and with him being a former soldier, I'm sure he's got a lot of experience with killing. I don't want to have this talk, I…I just can't handle it right now. I just need to stay focused on the mission at hand, it's more important than how I feel right now. "Look, I appreciate you telling me this but I'm fine. I'm doing just-" I can't…there's no point; he somehow knows that I'm lying, so I might as well get this over with. "*sighs* How did you know?" He looks at me with, giving a half-hearted smile, "I've seen that look plenty of times, during and after the war. The thing is, you shouldn't feel sorry for what happened, to him; it was-" he stops when I roll my eyes at him, because I know exactly what he's gonna say.

"If you're going to say that I shouldn't feel sorry for killing him because he was Hydra, then I don't wanna hear that, ok." I didn't mean to be so harsh, yet he doesn't look the least bit phased. He simply shakes his head and says "What I was going to say before you so rudely interrupted me," he flashes a smile; I guess that's his way of forgiving me for being so harsh with him.

"Was that you shouldn't feel sorry for killing him, because you didn't. It was the fall that killed him, not you." Somehow deep down, I knew he was going to say that, even though it's completely untrue. "Of course I killed him, I was the one who shot him, I was the one that caused him to…" suddenly I lose my voice, which is when I turn away so that the battle-hardened soldier doesn't see the shame that's plastered all over my face.

I close my eyes, and I wish as hard as I can, that things can go back to the way they were; before Hydra, before Fitz's coma, before Ward betrayed us, but I know that can't happen. Then suddenly I feel someone gently touching my chin, their fingers were smooth. I open my eyes and turn my head towards him, towards Jaxx. His fingers remain on my chin, my eyes meet his, and that's when I notice something I didn't before; his eyes are so warm, so kind that it's kind of eerie at first, but after a while you start to…

"I need you to listen to what I have to say, can you do that?" he snaps me back to reality, and not a moment too soon. I give him a nod, even though I didn't really hear the question. What's wrong with you Skye? You're acting like a school girl crushing on the football captain. Shortly after nodding, he lets go of my chin, "Firstly, if you hadn't shot him he would've most likely killed you, me and Coulson or they would've captured us; either way you had no choice."

He pauses a moment, I guess to make sure that what he's saying is actually registering, which by the way it is. "And secondly, you couldn't have known what was going to happen after you shot him, no one could've." He sounds so confident, even to the point where I start to believe that he's right. "I know it's just…why do I feel so guilty about it then, I mean why, should I he was Hydra and he was trying to kill us."

He leans forward, just inches away from my face; I don't know whether he's trying to console me or kiss me. "You didn't push him over, right?" he asks me even though he already knows the answer, but I shake my head "No." "Did you use your mind to make the fire escape shake, causing him to fall?" in SHIELD's line of work that wouldn't be unheard of, and yet I answer "No."

He leans back against the seat, and poses a question "So, that means what happened in that alley, isn't the cause of your pain. Which I guess, just leaves Ward." That name, every time I hear it I can't help but think about what he has done to us, to me. Every time I think about how he smiled at us, I want to throw up, and all the times he saved our lives makes me wanna just scream out.

Then there's FitzSimmons, what Ward did to them is unforgivable; now every time I see a picture of Fitz all I see is him lying there in that hospital bed, with tubes down his throat and Simmons by his bedside, waiting for him to wake up. When all of these memories and feelings rush me at the same time, it's like a constant explosion of pain, fear, and hatred all at once. Some people can be redeemed, but Ward; I'm not even sure if he was even a person to begin with.

"All that hate your feeling right now, it will consume you if you let it." As I look at him, I see him staring into my eyes again, but this time I don't flinch, "Did Hill tell you about him? About what he did to us?" I expected him to look away, but he didn't, instead he continued to look me in the eyes. "She did." this time I'm the one that looks away, turning my eyes back to the spot on the floor between my feet. "Then you know why I feel the way that I do."

I hear him sigh, and when I look over at him, he turns away. He leans forward again, resting his arms on his knees; he too looks down at the space between his feet "Yeah, yeah I do. And trust me when I say that all that hate, all that pain; the longer you hold to it, the more it changes you into something you don't wanna be."

From his tone, it sounds like he's dealt with the same problem that I'm dealing with now. Maybe…maybe I should ask him what to do, so that way I don't end up a psychotic basket-case like Ward. "How did you, get past it? How did you fix it?" He takes in a deep breath, then turns to me and places his hand gently on my shoulder, "There's no changing what happened, there's no fixing the damage that's been done; so all you can do is move forward, and take it day by day."

What I was really hoping for was a simple answer, like 'take a couple pills and call me in the morning' answer, but I guess his answer is as good as any to start with. And I must admit, I do feel a little better, not a whole lot, but enough. I look away briefly before turning back and flashing him a smile, my way of saying thanks for the talk. "You good?' he asks, I keep smiling as I nod "Actually, yeah; I kinda do. Thanks for the talk it really did help."

He smiles back at me and that's when I notice that he actually has dimples, which make him a little bit cuter. "Well, talking about it does help, believe me. It makes quite the difference. And if you need to talk, or have any questions, feel free to ask, 'kay?" Once more I nod, he sits back up and slaps his knees before saying "Well, guess I better get back to flying before Coul decides to try and land us in a corn field or something."

I chuckle a bit, and he does too, just as he started to get outta his seat- Wait a minute! This is your chance girl, you're chance to ask him about- "Um I do have a few questions, if you don't mind a little Q&A that is?" He pauses in mid-lift, then sits back down in the seat, he grins and says "Sure, but FYI, my safe word is Apples." Funny, but now it's time to answer some questions Mr. Funny-Man.

I turn to my left and pull out his file, as I open it I notice that I peeked his curiosity, "First off, how do I get a cool nickname, like you and May?" He looks confused by my question, "What nickname?" he says; I look down at the file and its right there, clear as day, "The Sword? It's right here under aliases." I hand him the folder, he takes it and begins reading through it. He appears to be agitated and shocked by what he's read.

"Seriously? I can't believe Barton actually told them that." whoa wait, is he talking about the Clint Barton, aka the bow-wielding Avenger Hawkeye? "Hold on a sec; you know Hawkeye?" he shakes his head as he continued reading the file; I'm hoping he doesn't notice that I'm totally geeking out here.

"Unfortunately yea, I've actually worked with him and Romanoff on a couple of missions," Wow! I can't believe it, any of this. He must be one badass soldier to be paired up with Hawkeye and 'The Black Widow'. No wonder Nick Fury and Coulson tried to recruit him. He continues shaking his head and says "That little arrow shootin' terd couldn't even get that right. Figures…" I look over at the folder, curious about what exactly he's talking about so I ask "What is it?"

He leans over showing me the page within the folder and points to his name in the top left corner, "It's Jaxx with two x's, not one." Apparently he likes his name spelled a certain way. Of course I don't really blame him, if I had a nickel for every time someone misspelled my name, I'd be richer than Tony Stark, well not really. Then I remembered that I have something that could fix that; I reach down into my bag, and pull out a white-out pen; I lean over and write another x on the end of his name. "There you go. Jax with two x's." He laughs a little bit, then looks at me and says "Nice."

I shrug smile back at him, "Don't mention it." The next few seconds seemed to slow to a crawl as we stare at each other for a moment, a very long moment. "Jaxx! We're coming up on the landing zone, eta 2 minutes." A.C shouting snapped me outta Jaxx's hypnotic gaze. I turn away briefly to try a pull myself together, and he too looked away for a moment before handing me back the folder.

"Well, I better go before Coul decides to land this thing himself." He chuckles a bit awkwardly before standing back up. "Right…" I say it under my breath, where he couldn't possibly hear me. As he starts walking toward the cockpit, "Jaxx!" he stops and turns around, a look of curiosity across his face.

"Thanks again for the talk. I really needed it." he flashes me another smile, showing his dimples and he says "Anytime." He turns back around and gets secured in the pilot's seat. I lay my head back against the metal railing, and close my eyes. For the first time in weeks, I finally feel calm, and relaxed all thanks to talking to a complete stranger. Wait a minute, he never did tell me how he got his nickname, or about his history with Simmons. Oh he's good, he's reeeaaaalllll good.

 **5 minutes later**

Jaxx managed to land in a clearing just a few minutes away from their objective. Coulson seemed a little worried about the **Iron Wing** being left out in the open, but was reassured that they would be back before anyone would find it. They made their way through the local park; luckily there were very few people around to notice them. And even if they were noticed, they would seem like nothing more than a brother and sister taking a stroll with their father. After walking clear across the park, they could finally see their objective in sight; the house that they were looking for lay just across the street from them, and held within possible clues as to the location of Dr. Streiten, and the men who took him.

Coulson, Skye, and Jaxx took a moment to scout the area from afar, hiding behind some over-grown bushes, before actually approaching it. The house stood nearly 2 ½ stories high, painted sky blue, just like every other house on the block. There was no garage to be seen, which only meant that if Streiten did have a car, he would've likely parked it not too far from this location. Everything seemed in order except for one tiny detail, a detail that they should've perhaps accounted for. A single patrol car is parked just outside the house, with a patrolman walking the perimeter and another waiting in the car itself. They were most likely here to secure the crime scene and to keep any unauthorized visitors from tampering with any potential evidence left behind. Now, usually this particular situation wouldn't be much of an issue, but that was back when everything was more sensible. Back when all Coulson and co. would have to do is walk over to the patrolmen, flash their credentials and they would be let right in.

But that was then, that was when they weren't considered terrorists and branded as traitors, so they would have to find another more difficult way around this.

 **Coulson**

It's always got to be difficult doesn't it? It can never be easy, not even just this once. Well, the good news is that there's only one patrol car and two officers, making this slightly easier. "Well, whatcha think A.C?" I wish I knew Skye, but I haven't exactly had time to cobble together a clear plan of attack here. We don't have many options, so I guess now's as good as any to strategize.

"Not many options available," which is true, if only the streets weren't so crowded, or if the property was less-exposed and so much out in the open that'd be nice. The stealthy approach isn't an option, there's no back alley to sneak through, which means we'd have to risk tramping through someone's yard. "We could always use these." I look over at Skye, holding up her 'Nite-Nite' pistol, "Knock'em out before they spot us."

I like her initiative, but we can't risk being seen shooting officers, we have enough of a poor reputation with the public as is. "Not an option, we can't fire on officers in broad daylight; there's a chance that someone could see and call it in. No we need another plan of attack…"

Then suddenly, it hits me, and I turn to Jaxx, the only other person here who knows the operational playbook as well as, well, me. "What about ' **The Belgian Truffle** '?" he turns around and thinks on it briefly, then shakes his head, "Don't have the right equipment for it." Okay, well what about… " **The Milkshake Cowboy** , then?" once more he shakes his head, then says "Unless you got a dress under that suit, and wanna go drag this time; then it's a no." Honestly I didn't think he looked that bad, and besides I don't exactly have the figure to pull off a backless dress. In that case, maybe " **The Illuminating Gentleman** , all we need is…" he tilts his head a bit before shaking it, "No, I am not doing that again, not after I dislocated my shoulder last time."

Yea, it didn't go exactly according to plan, plus; I don't think that Skye would go for it, considering what she'd have to wear. Damnit, there's got to be some way in there; think Phil, just think…

 **Skye**

Ok seriously, who comes up with these names? **The Belgian Truffle**? **Milkshake Cowboy**? **The Illuminating Gentleman**? They all sound like titles to some old film nior movies, except the second one; that one kinda sounds like a porno. All that aside, I'm beginning to wonder if we should've waited and called in the cavalry before coming here.

Because I'm sure by now most of the evidence has already been taken in for processing by now, but what other options do we have left; if there's even a shred of evidence that could tell us where Hydra has taken Streiten then we've got to find it. There's a simple solution to this that we're just not seeing; often times it's the simplest solutions that often provides the best results…FitzSimmons taught me that one.

So, while A.C tries to figure out a way around the police, Jaxx and I continue watching the house. Which is when the patrolling officer comes walking around the side of the house, heading towards the car. He leans in through the passenger window and starts talking with the other cop, unfortunately they're too far away for us to hear their conversation. The one inside the car is starting to fidget around like he's looking for something, but what I'm not exactly sure.

"What's the he doing?" I wasn't expecting anyone to answer, but A.C always answers. "What's that?" I look over at him, then back at the cops, "The cop inside the car, he's doing something but I can't tell what." That's when Jaxx reaches into his jacket pocket, and pulls something rectangular out. "Here." He holds it out in front of me, while he continues watching them.

I glance over at Coulson, before taking, whatever it is from Jaxx. I look at it and it looks like…a pocket periscope. Nifty, the Boy Scout came prepared. I grab both ends and pull, and then I point it at the cop car to take a closer looksee. The cop in the car picks up a folder from between the seats; he opens it briefly before handing to the other. Whatever's in that file, it has them talking like a couple of gossiping school girls, I wonder what's inside.

"If only we had badges." I don't know why I suddenly blurted that out, or why that particular thought popped into my head. But I continue watching hoping that A.C and Jaxx ignore me. And yet, I can feel like A.C is about to say something "It's not exactly like they would do us any good here. To them, SHIELD is nothing more than traitors; we're no better than Hydra." That's not exactly what I meant Debbie-Downer, "No, what I mean is badges, like y'know, FBI or CIA; so we could impersonate federal agents, like on that one show?"

He doesn't respond, so I stop watching and look over at him, only to find that he's' now looking at me, confused, "Y'know, that show about the two brothers who go around hunting demons and other **Supernatural** things. They impersonate cops and government agents to get information about cases. They're played by…crap what are their names; Jared and Jensen…something-or-other."

Okay girl, you're getting off subject, and now not only is Coulson giving you a look, but now Jaxx is looking at you all bewildered too. Maybe it was a dumb idea, "Never mind, it was just—just a stupid idea." I turn my attention back to the cops, but I feel like they're still staring at me. After a few minutes the lingering starts to annoy me.

Once again I lower the periscope and this time I look at Jaxx, who starts to grin. Not a regular grin, it's one of them like, shit-eating grins that people get when they come up with a really bad idea. Jaxx turns to Coulson, "It could work… **Tango and Cash.** " I look over at Coulson, who now appears befuddled. Wow, befuddled…I really gotta stop watching Dr. Who with Simmons.

"You sure?" A.C seems a little unsure about, well, whatever it is they're talking about, but Jaxx just gives him a shrug and says "What other options we got? The more time we waste the further ahead Hydra gets. Besides, it could be fun." A.C leans against the tree, thinking about our plan of action and after a few seconds he nods, "Okay, fine. We'll need a few things,"

 **7 minutes later**

 **Skye**

I'm so anxious, and can't help but fidget around a bit; meanwhile Jaxx just leans against the bus stop bench, as cool as a wallflower. A.C should've been back by now…where is he? "Calm down will' ya, he'll be here." I guess he finally got tired of me pacing back and forth, but I can't help it.

"I know, I know it's just," I don't want to say that I'm nervous, I mean if they're so called plan doesn't work then we're completely screwed. "Just what Skye?" I start calming down when I turn around to see A.C standing there holding a plastic bag. "And where have you been? We've been waiting for nearly 10 minutes." Needless to say I'm just a tish bit irritated at the moment.

He shows us a smile and says "Sorry for that," he looks down, and reaches inside the bag; "But I couldn't decide on paper or plastic. Besides they had a lot to choose from…" He pulls out two spray cans and holds them up, "Which do you think is more vagrant-e, Navy blue, or Hot Rod red?" "Hot Rod definitely. And also, vagrant-e is not a word."

It's like Jaxx read my mind, and stole my line; looking at A.C who has a little bit of a scowl on his face, "Yes it is," I hate disagreeing with my mentor and boss, buuuuut, "He's right A.C, that's not a word." He lowers the spray cans and replies "I'm pretty sure it is." Jaxx stands up, turning towards him, "Ok; if it's a word, then use it in a sentence." As much as I would like to see them throw down words, we do have a house to break into.

"Um guys," they both turn to me, which means it's time to focused the attention. "We do still have a time sensitive mission to get to, remember? Streiten, the serum, Hydra? Any of this ringing a bell?" they look back at each other, then A.C holds out the red can, which Jaxx takes.

"We'll finish this later." Jaxx threatens, but in a playful way. "Count on it." A.C always has to get the final word in. Whatever, what matters is that they're back on task. "Got ya cuffs?" Jaxx asks. Coulson smiles once more before reaching into his pocket. Seconds later he tosses his pair of handcuffs over to Jaxx, who catches them.

"I never leave home without them." I wonder how long Coulsons' been saving that one. Jaxx clicks the cuffs open, then turns to me "You ready for this?" Not really, I just hope everything goes according to plan, whatever it is "FYI, my safe word is APPLES."

 **Jaxx**

I hope this works, and it should as long as Skye can act the part. Gotta admit, I'm a little bit nervous. But the girl looks a bit more nervous than I do, of course; she's the one currently handcuffed at the moment, and I'm sure it's not her first time either.

We turn the corner and see the cop standing outside the cruiser. I pause for a moment and look over at her. "You ready?" she looks up at me, a look of confidence, "I'm good." I give her a little smile, then a nod "Good, now get your game face on." A tiny smile comes across her face, just before I take her arm and start dragging her towards the boys in blue.

I know she's wondering how we're gonna pull this off, especially with no badges, but I have advantage the neither her or Coulson know about. That's the only reason why I believe we can pull this off, all she has to do is trust me…which might be easier said than done. We're getting closer, which is when I look down at her wrist, more specifically the cuffs.

I don't want to bruise her wrists, but it has to look convincing otherwise…we'll have to do it the hard way. The cop leaning against the car notices us; game time. "Can I help you sir?" He stands up, placing his hand on his pistol; he's prepared and well-trained, from his demeanor I'm gonna say former navy seal.

I can see the other officer stirring inside the car, waiting for his partner's queue. Kay Jaxx, try to sound convincing, "Well, you could help by doing your job officer…Hastings." The officer in the car opens the door, and steps out; he walks around the left of the car, and luckily he's holding the folder that Skye saw earlier. "What's the problem?" the one officer asks the other, who shakes his head and replies "Don't know," he then turns to me, with scowl plastered on his face "This guy just-"

"The name, is Special Agent Jack Monroe, FBI Quantico field office." I don't know who looks more shocked, the cops or Skye. The two cops glance one another, then the driver glances back at me, "You're Agent Monroe, of the FBI?" I dig into my jacket pocket, and a few seconds later, I flash'em my very own, and very detailed badge.

"That's what it says on my badge." I put it away quickly, before they took a closer look at it. Once more the two of them looked at each other then back at me. "Sorry sir, we weren't expecting-" I put up my hand, stopping him from talking. If it's one thing I know about the FBI, is that no matter who they are, they all act like dicks.

"Yeah, I took an earlier flight in the hopes of wrapping this one up early, but as soon as I get to the crime scene," I glance at Skye who looks at me, pretending to struggle away, "I find you two standing around gabbing like a couple of school girls at prom." The one officer looks flustered, while Officer Hastings looks like he wants to deck me…good.

"Sir, we just got on shift, and our orders were to keep an eye on the premises." I can hear the tone of irritation in Hasting's voice. I turned to him, gave him an asshole kind of smile, "Well, you two are doing a bang up job so far. Except for the fact that I just caught this one," She starts to struggle a bit, keeping up appearances, "Trying to sneak in, through the backyard of the lot behind this one and with this."

I hold up the red spray can, then I start to shake it which caused the ball-bearing to rattle around inside. I turn to Skye, who gives a shrug "I was just returning it, that's all." I nod, "Yeah sure, keep it up smartass." She turns to me "Why don't you go suck down a donut or something ass-hat." Ass-hat, now that's just mean.

I turn to the officers, who look at each other, confused, and then the other officer looked back at me, "So you want us to take her in sir?" I look at him and replied "No I got this, but I saw someone else run off when I cuffed her. He's wearing a blue blazer, and brown khaki's. I need you to search the block for him and bring him down to the station for questioning."

They look at each other, Hastings turns back and asks, "What about the house sir?" I glance at the house then back at him, saying "I already have a forensics team 3 minutes out. I take a look around before they arrive." They nod, as they're probably thankful for not having to babysit the house for the rest of the day. They were beginning to walk back to the cruiser when it hits me, "Officer…"

The driver turns around, just inches away from opening the door, "Mitchem sir." "Mitchem, what's with the folder?" He looks down at the folder before walking back over to me and the girl. He holds it out for me to take, "We were told to keep an eye out for any of these people, and that if we spot them; wait and call for backup." I don't look inside, not yet anyway, I give the officer a nod, "Mind if I keep this?"

Mitchem shakes his head, "Not a problem sir." I nod, then flash him fake smile, "Thanks, and good work sgt." He grabs the tip of his hat, and slightly nods. Finally he turns around, gets into the cruiser, and the officers finally drive off. As soon as I see them turn the corner, that's when the clock starts. I start to un-cuff the girl, cause the way I see it we've got about 7-10 minutes tops before they call they're station with an update.

"Ass-hat, really?" I say sarcastically as I finish un-cuffing her. She turns around, flashing me a grin "It was a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing, I didn't mean it, scout's honor." She starts to massage her wrists; I didn't put the cuffs on her too tight, "Were they too tight?" She looks up at me, and shakes her head, "Oh no, no not at all. I've just always wanted to do that, ever since I saw it on NYPD Blue."

Okay then, back to the task at hand. Coulson was already at the velvet colored door, waiting; the two of us made our way up the steps to Coul. The first thing I notice is the splintering on the doors' frame. I look over at Coul, who nods and says "Okay Jaxx, let's see if you still got it." Really Coul; alright if that's how you wanna play it…

I kneel down and begin examining the door further. I use the corner of the folder to open the door just a bit, where I could inspect it further. The frame of the door doesn't appear to be as damaged as it should be. I hand the file to Coul, who opens it up; shortly after he lets out a scoff "I don't believe this," I look over at him just as he lifts up a sketch mock-up of who the officers were keeping an eye out for.

"They made me look like I'm constipated." He mocks, while Skye looks at the picture, and tilts her head a bit before giving a shrug. "I don't know A.C; it makes you look like your auditioning for Spock." He looks at her, giving her a sly grin. I turn back to the door, because something about this isn't making sense and it's bugging the hell outta me.

I enter the house first; the front foyer is a wreck, with bullet holes riddled along the wall, desk drawers pulled out, and a broken vase in pieces on the floor. I head further in and find the living room, which seems worse off than the foyer. The two chairs and couch which occupied this area were nothing more that kindling now. Their white stuffing laying all over the place, I turn and look behind me to see Coul and the girl standing there.

Coulson shows little emotion when looking at the scene, while the girl looks around in horror. He turns to her, "Skye, go check upstairs, see if you can find anything the cops or Hydra might've missed." She nods, "Got it." He hands her a pair of disposable gloves, which she takes. She starts putting them on as she heads upstairs; Coul puts on a set of gloves, after which he holds out a pair for me.

"Guess I'm not the only one who came prepared, huh?" I say sarcastically as I take the pair from him. He looked at me, humorously "We're always prepared, and you should know that by now." "You weren't prepared for Hydra," I shouldn't have blurted it out like that. Looking over at him, I can tell that I hit a nerve, "I didn't mean-" He holds up his hand, "I know you didn't," he looks away, I guess to try and hide whatever shame he was feeling, "But your right, we should've seen it coming; we should've been prepared…this."

Great, now I feel like a douche for bringing up that sore subject. I'm such an Ass-hat right now, but there might be a chance that I can fix this. "How?" it's a simple enough question and yet, it's often the most difficult to answer. He looks at me, confused and perhaps a little antsy. I wasn't planning on giving out pep talk's today, but if it'll speed this whole thing along then so be it.

"How could you possibly have been prepared for this? They've been planning this since SHIELD's inception; infiltrating every level of its foundation and manipulating everyone around them." I pause briefly, waiting for him to answer, but instead of an answer, he just looks at me and says, "I'm assuming there's a point to this supposed pep talk?" I can hear a slight agitation in his tone, meaning that this is far from done.

"My point is that no one saw this coming, not Peggy Carter or Howard Stark, hell, not even Fury saw this one coming. And he's 'the' spy." He lets out a heavy sigh and pauses for a few seconds; either he's thinking clearly about what I just said or he's about to make a sarcastic-ass remark. "Well, in Fury's defense; he only has the one good eye." Sarcastic-ass remark it is.

"Listen, what I'm saying is that you can go and beat yourself up all day everyday about how Hydra manipulated all of us or…you can make'em rue the day that they ever decided to pick a fight with SHIELD." His demeanor's changed, which means that he's back to his old self again. He nods at me, and I in turn nod to him, before turning my attention back to the scene.

"Did you just say 'rue the day'?" Crap, I was hoping he didn't catch that, "Yea, there was a Doctor Who marathon on last night and, it just stuck y'know." And the sad part is, I don't even like Doctor Who, well, at least I didn't. I can tell without looking at him that he's grinning ear to ear, "Shuttup." I say. That's when Skye comes walking downstairs and soon after they start talking. I don't have much time, maybe only a few seconds to do what I need to do. I turn my back to them then I kneel down, close my eyes, and take in a deep breath through my nose…

 **Coulson**

I can't believe he actually used the word 'rue', and I never figured him for a Doctor Who fan either. Guess he's just full of surprises. But he is right about one thing, I can't keep beating myself up over what Hydra has done to SHIELD, to us. I gotta move forward, we all do although that's easier said than done. I heard muffled footsteps from upstairs, so I turn to see Skye walking down, and from the look on her face the news isn't good.

"Well, find anything?" When she reaches the base of the stairs she tilts her head a bit to the right, and asks "Well, do you want the bad news or the really bad news first?" Crap, and here I thought everything was going so well, "What's the bad news?" she takes a couple steps towards me, then places her hands on her hips. "The bad news is that every room upstairs is completely trashed, broken pictures, busted walls; not to mention the bullet holes that now decorate the hallway walls."

I'm afraid to ask about the really bad news, but I've got to know "So how much worse is the really bad news?" "Hydra definitely searched this place, from top to bottom. The furniture is smashed, the bed and cushions were slashed open and I haven't found a single electronic, which means…"

She pauses briefly, but I know the answer already, "That they took everything they could find." She gives me a look, like she wants to say something, but she's hesitant.

"What is it Skye?" she takes a deep breath, "It's just…there's a lot of blood upstairs. It's not good A.C." That doesn't make any sense, if they really are after the GH serum they would want him alive, but from what Skye's describing to me…

 **Skye**

I can see the gears turning in his head as he looks around for a bit. He looks down at the police folder in his hand, and opens it; I guess he's trying to find something that the police might've missed. A scowl suddenly washes over his face and soon after he shakes his head, "The report says that they found blood splatter on that wall," he pauses to nod towards the wall, but I don't look at. "But there's no mention of any upstairs, much less pools of blood…"

Kay, now that's got me a little bit concerned, and confused. I look back up the stairs, then back at Coulson, "That's not possible, it should be in there…" there has to be an explanation for this. "They could've missed it." I shake my head, "No way A.C; there's no way that they could've missed these, unless they're-" I paused when I turned to my left, expecting to see Jaxx going over the crime scene, but instead there's no one else in the room, but me and A.C.

"Where's Jaxx?" shortly after asking, Coulson turns to look, and after a few seconds of looking he appeared just as confused as I am. "Hey guys, up here!" I jump a little, as both me and A.C turn to look up stairs. How the hell did he get past us? And what's he doing upstairs anyway? I look at A.C, who gives me the same look of confusion as I'm giving him right now. He moves around me and starts heading upstairs, yet I hesitant. I'm not squeamish, but that was a lot if blood, a lot more than I'm used to seeing.

As A.C reaches the top step, I quickly snap back from my train-of-thought, and begin walking up the creaking stairs. As I turn the corner, there's Jaxx kneeling down next to the pool of blood. Coulson stands a few inches behind him, looking down at the dark red liquid which now stained the floor. Now I'm no doctor or scientist but, there's no way anyone could survive losing that much blood not even…

Don't think like that Skye, hell for all you know, that's not even his blood; "Something's off," he says, kneeling down beside Jaxx. You're kinda stating the obvious there A.C I mean, everything about this is off. "It's fresh…" for a minute there I thought Jaxx had lost his voice, since he hasn't spoken a word since we walked into this place.

"What do you mean fresh?" I ask, he lowers his hand down, just a few inches from the surface of the blood. Now that's kinda gross; what is he doing? "From the temperature, I say 3, no more than 4 hours." He quickly stands up, and looks up towards the ceiling. That's when I see what I missed when I was up here.

There was a latch to a crawl space, one which probably leads to the attic and to whatever or whoever is bleeding out.

 **Jaxx**

I knew it. I could smell the stench of death all the way from across the park. I can also hear Coul and Skye shuffling for their guns, and when I turn around; they're pointing them at the crawl space. "You don't need those," I say, but they still have their Icer's trained on that one spot. "Why's that exactly?" with his training, Coul should know that no one could survive that much blood loss.

"Because," I say, while reaching up towards the latch. "That much blood, likely means that they bled out…" I tighten my grip on the latch, and slowly pull it towards me. Once it was opened a ways, the legs of a ladder slid out, slamming into the pool of blood splashing droplets of blood out just a few feet. The stench is more potent now, yet the other two have yet to smell it, of course, they don't have the certain skill set that I do.

I reach inside my jacket pocket and pull out a mini flashlight, not that I would've needed it, but for appearances sake I'll use it. I grip one of the steps, and slowly start to climb up; the wooden steps start creaking each time I put the slightest bit of pressure on them. Finally I make it up to where I could see inside the attic.

I lift up the flashlight and shine it off to my right first, only to find some old cardboard boxes covered in years of dust and cobwebs. Slowly I start to shine it counter-clockwise, yet all I seem to find is more of the same. Until I lift my left hand up to get a better grip; something cold, wet and sticky now covered my palm and when I lifted it off and shine the light on it…

It's blood, lots of it; I could see where it dripped through the seam of the attic door. Unfortunately, I found the body laying barely a foot away from the latch, and the subject's gun laid just out of reach of his cold lifeless hand. I could tell who it was, even though he'd been dead for a few hours, the smell of decay had yet to set in and shining the light on his face only confirmed my suspicions.

"Damnit Shaw…" I say it under my breath, hoping that if they didn't hear then it wouldn't be true. "Who is it?" I turn to Coulson, who looks a little concerned, but he shouldn't be; Shaw was one of the best, one of the good ones. "It's…it's Shaw." And after I say his name, that's when Coulson realizes who we just lost. He lowered and holstered his Icer, and the girl followed suit.

"Who's Shaw?" she asks, I don't have it in me, but Coul on the other hand, turns to her and says "He was one of Hand's agent's. He was one of the best we had." Even though she didn't know him personally, she still took a moment to grieve his loss. I lower my head briefly, giving him a small prayer and thanking him for all that he's done for us and his country.

Then I look up and over at Coulson, who looks back at me, "Bring him down, we'll give him a proper burial when we get back to base. I nod, thanking god that Coulson's one of the good ones, then I re-focus on the task at hand since we've only got about 7 more minutes left before the cops come back around.

I take his gun, holstering it in the soul of my back, and as I grab his cold pulse-less wrist I notice something. In his hand he's holding a, mini flash drive. I stop what I was doing, and go back down to the others, I look at the girl and say "Heads up." Shortly after I toss her the flash drive and she catches it, she looks at it in confusion. Coulson looks at it then at me and asks "What is it?" She shakes her head and replies "it's a 32 GB flash drive. No telling what's on though."

She hands it to him he takes it and looks closer at it, "Could be a clue to where they took Streiten." I take a deep breath, "Whatever's on there, Shaw gave his life to protect it." Coulson looks at me, his eyes brimming with rage and fury, nearly ready to erupt, but it won't; I know him all too well. He won't let his emotions cloud his judgment oh no; he'll save it. All that rage, all that anger he feels right now, he'll save for when he finally comes face-to-face with Hydra, and then he'll unleash it. They'll be sorry that they ever picked a fight with SHIELD, me and Coulson both will make sure of that. He looks back at the flash drive, and says "Then let's make sure that his death wasn't for nothing."


	7. Ep1 Ch3 A Debt to be Paid pt4

When Jaxx and Shaw first met, it was during Jaxx's 2nd tour in Iraq; he was loaned out to a joint military/government task force in pursuit of 3 high ranking members of Al-Qaida. Shaw was serving as the liaison between the Military and S.H.I.E.L.D; it was him who had personally requested Jaxx due in no small part to his unique ability to track any target no matter the terrain or distance as well as being able to get in and out of known hot zones without leaving a single trace. During one of many operations, their convoy was ambushed on their way to an extraction point. After losing many men and all their vehicles, they managed to find cover in an abandoned housing complex, and were later pinned down and surrounded by dozens of enemy forces.

For days they fended off wave after wave of opposing forces, and with each passing day they lost another soldier, and in Jaxx's mind, another brother. With both ammo and supplies running low, and unable to evac the injured to safety, the situation became more dire. On the 12th day of the standoff, there were only 4 men out of 24 left and still able and willing to fight. With very few options remaining, both Shaw and Jaxx came up with a desperate gambit. It was on this day, that a permanent and unbreakable bond was forged between the two; one forged in blood, sand, and bullets and with it they made each other a single promise. If the other was ever in trouble or needed help with anything, all they had to do was ask.

However, this promise didn't take into account the one flaw within Shaw's own persona; Jaxx knew that Shaw's stubbornness is what kept getting him into trouble, but he never thought that it would get him killed. Jaxx would continue thinking about his missions with him as he slowly carried the former agent down from the attic, gently laying him at the base of the stairs. He took in a breath as he removed a portion of the sheet that he was wrapped in. He stared into his friends' pale, bruised face; as he continued to stared, a sudden wave of emotion rushed over him. This emotion did not fill him with anger, nor rage; oh no, those he would save for those responsible for this, no instead he felt remorse.

The last time they had spoken to one another was a few weeks before Hydra came back from the dead. Shaw called him, talking about something going within S.H.I.E.L.D. and that he was going to investigate. Meanwhile Jaxx was having problems of his own, and found himself in no position to help anyone. And now, he blamed himself for not making time, even though it wouldn't help anyone, and yet who else was there to blame? He covered Shaw's face back up, and placed his hand on Shaw's forehead; in his own way, he prayed for his friend's safe passage and gave made him a promise. To find those responsible, and then, show them the true meaning of pain.

While he paid his respects, Coulson and Skye were busy securing a vehicle, one that they could use as cover to get back to their transport. It wouldn't be easy, but they were determined to cover their tracks and bring their fallen agent back to the Playground. Skye drove up to the house and looked at Jaxx standing in the doorway; she could tell that he was far beyond upset, as he looked down in agony at his fallen friend. With Coulson's help, Jaxx was able to place Shaw within the trunk. Coulson did not want his remains to be handled like this, but the truth was according to Jaxx that is; it wouldn't have matter to Shaw, not now at least.

With the remains were secured, Coulson closed the trunk while Jaxx went inside to destroy any evidence that they or Shaw were ever there. The combination of bleach and various other chemicals helped to destroy any way of identifying Shaw's blood. Skye and Coulson waited anxiously in the car, counting down the time before the patrol car come speeding back.

Jaxx quickly joined the two in the car, and soon they would be back at the Iron Wing. The atmosphere was deathly silent when they finally arrived; Jaxx removed the body from the trunk while Coulson drove the car somewhere it could be disposed of. Jaxx slowly carried body into the plane, and laid him gently on the floor. Skye managed to find a body bag inside one of the compartments scattered throughout; under normal circumstances, she'd be questioning why there was a body bag on the plane in the first place yet she knew now wasn't the time to ask. She just looked at Jaxx, who seemed to be staring off into space. Skye didn't personally know Shaw, of course she only met him a few times at the HUB, but in her mind, he seemed like one of the good guys. When she rolled out the bag, Jaxx snapped back to reality; Skye offered her help, which he reluctantly accepted and the two gently and respectfully placed Shaw into the bag.

Jaxx slowly zipped up the bag, and took a moment to reflect on the good old days; the days before gods actually existed, before aliens invaded New York, before Hydra, before the whole damned world got flipped upside down. The two of them secured the body afterwards they waited for Coulson to get back; the atmosphere got tenser and tenser with each passing second. Jaxx started powering up the plane while he waited; meanwhile Skye was trying to figure out what to say to him. She felt like she needed to say something, anything so that he knew that she was there for him; as a shoulder to cry on, but the words never came and instead, she just sat there in silence. Her mind wondered with endless questions, like for instance, how exactly did he know Agent Shaw? Did he know him from before SHIELD fell, or after?

Each second yielded a new question which only made her more and more curious about this stranger; a stranger that she didn't even know a few hours prior. But she knew this wasn't the time to ask such questions; then, Coulson finally arrived and after securing himself in one of the seats, Jaxx initiated takeoff procedures, pulled back the throttle, and in mere seconds they were off. In just under an hour, they would be back at the Playground, where hopefully, they'll be able to answer some unresolved questions. Because at the moment, Hydra is three steps ahead of them, meaning they desperately need to pick up the rest of the Dr. Streiten's trail.

Coulson hoped that Simmons could find something on Shaw's body to point them in the right direction. Meanwhile, Skye opened her laptop and started working the mysterious flash drive that Shaw was clutching when he died. The drive of course was encoded, but Skye has cracked and hacked past her fair share of encrypted and encoded files; all that was needed was time, which she had plenty of until they arrived back at base.

 **The Playground**

Those who know Agent Melinda May well enough, know that she is not one that likes to be kept waiting, which did not bode well for Coulson and Skye who, as of nearly an hour ago, have yet to contact her about their progress. She never liked being kept in the dark about anything, especially when she knows that something is amiss with her new Director; Phil (as she called him on occasion) was hiding something, but what exactly? She thought that it might be the stress of trying to rebuild SHIELD and trying to rescue/help those still loyal to SHIELD's ideals, fight Hydra for control over the other secret bases. That is why she asked Coulson to stay behind, watch over things at the Playground, while she and Triplett did the heavy lifting. That's why Coulson's been cooped for the last few weeks, but now, maybe that wasn't the right move she thought; it was possible that he was stressing over Fitz's current condition, but who wasn't, especially Simmons.

May's been trying to keep busy as she waited for an update; checking on the survivors that they rescued just a few minutes ago. Walking into the med bay, she took in every detail; Triplett was helping carry one agent to a couch that he and Billy Koenig brought in minutes before. Meanwhile Agent Simmons examined the wounded, patching up those who crucially needed it. For Agent Jemma Simmons, life before Hydra and the fall of the Triskellian was an average one; well, as average as the life of a SHIELD agent could be. She held multiple degrees, but her main interest and expertise was in Bio-Chemistry and was the youngest to graduate from SHIELD Academy. But nowadays, thanks in no small part to Hydra, her bio-chemistry skills have been put on the back burner.

Instead she's the resident medical resident, and for that she has seen more than her share of broken bones, bullet wounds, and stab wounds, etc. Within recent weeks, there have been very few agents brought in who didn't have some sort of wound or injury that needed to be treated, which left little time for outside interests. The only upside to this, is the fact that she could monitor the vitals of her friend and…partner Leopold Fitz. Whenever she's not in the medical bay tending to the wounded, she could be found sitting at his bedside, watching, waiting for any sign that he's still in there, still alive. But the part of her that relies on science, tells her that he might never wake up, thanks in part to his brain being deprived of oxygen for nearly 20 minutes.

She has many regrets, but this…not being able to save Fitz, is probably her biggest regret of all. But as of now, she had just finished wrapping gauze around one of the wounded's arm when she noticed May standing in the doorway. She looks over at Agent Triplett and asks if he could finish here, so that she could give May her report. He nods, and walks over to finish what she began; Simmons expresses her thanks and walks over to her current superior officer.

 **Melinda May**

She looks like she hasn't gotten any sleep in days, which means she has to be running on fumes. "Agent May…" I can hear the exhaustion in her tone. "How are they?" I ask; Simmons lets out an energy deprived sigh, "Well they're all a little banged up a bit, and god only knows what they've been through."

Unfortunately we all know what they've been through, hell; we've gone through the same damn thing. "Anything serious?" I'm trying to focus on the task at hand, but I keep wondering what Coulson and Skye are up to, and why they haven't checked in yet. Well, for now I have to focus on the newest recruits. "No internal injuries thank goodness; but I have counted over a dozen contusions, a handful of broken bones, 2 concussions, and a broken collar bone at least. They'll be fine within a few weeks give or take."

I nod, knowing that it could've been worse…much worse. I look behind her at Trip and Billy working together patching up the rest of the wounded. "How are Trip and Billy?" She turns, glancing at them while they worked. "Trip's field training is a blessing, and Billy's eager to help however he can," she turns back to me "They make great nurses if do say so myself." I smile a bit, "I don't think we have any nurse uniforms in Trip's size. Billy on the other hand…" she smiles just a little, and then in an instant it disappears. It's good to see her really smile again, even if it was briefly.

Suddenly the door behind me opens, and she looks straight at it. Her eyes fill with hope, and I know the reason why; she expects him to walk through that door, smiling at her, but he won't, which makes what comes next even harder to watch. I turn to the door just in time to see our newest member, Mac walk through. I quickly turn back to Simmons, only to see the hope fade from her eyes; it's hard to watch, even harder to know it firsthand.

"Hey guys, how's it going here?" Mac's words fall on deaf ears with Simmons, who looks down at her feet. "Fine Mac," I say. He looks at me then at Simmons, who's still staring at the floor. He tilts his head a bit, looking at the wounded, "How bad?" I turn to him, "Hydra wasn't expecting us, but it didn't make it any easier. We were lucky to get them out alive." A look of disappointment encompasses Mac's face, "Damn; well, at least you got out of there in one piece." I nod, and then look at Simmons who seemed to be staring at her watch insistently, as if she had somewhere else to be. "Simmons," I say, she looks up at me and asks with uncertainty "Yes Agent May?"

"Go on, go see him." She looks at me, shocked, as if she thought I was reading her mind. "Are you sure ma'am?" I nod, and say reassuringly "I'm sure, Trip and Billy have this well in hand. If they need anything, they'll know where you'll be. Now go." She seemed relieved by my response, and I could tell that she wanted to hug me, but she didn't because she knew I don't do hugs. She tears off her gloves, and rushes out of the room, but not before saying "Thank you Agent May. Thank you."

After she leaves the room, I look at Mac, who looks surprised by what I just did. "What?" I say sternly, he throws his hands in the air and shakes his head "Nothing ma'am, nothing at all." Alright, time to change the subject, "Any word from Director Coulson or Skye?" He nods, looking down at his pad, "Yeah just got word from the Director, they're on their way back now. ETA, 2 minutes." Well, at least there's some good news coming out of all this, but that only means that the really bad news is going to hit us like a brick to the face.

"How's their investigation going on Dr. Streiten? Have they made any progress?" his expression changes drastically, which means the news isn't good. "They said that they've made some progress, but not the good kind agent May." I hate it when I'm right.

 **Hallway to Recovery Room A-1**

 **Jemma Simmons**

Every day I seem to grow more and more anxious, all the while everyone around me seems to be surprisingly calm; Agent May for instance, she's been surprisingly kind and friendly towards me. It'd be refreshing if it wasn't a little disconcerting.

She's been extremely nice and patient with me, and only ever asked how Fitz was once…Damn. Every time I think of Fitz, my mind flashes back to that same moment; stuck in that med pod at the bottom of the ocean, him and me figuring a way out. And him telling me that he…Well, he never actually said how he felt about me, so instead, he showed me. The concussive blast was not near as bad as watching him float there, unconscious and near-death.

Why? Why did he do that, we could've figured out another way, we could've…Damn girl, all this constant badgering and you nearly walk past the recovery room; but instead of going in, I hesitant and peek through the tiny glass peephole in the door. I can't stand seeing him like that, laying there motionless, tubes shoveled down his throat; it's the only way, he couldn't breathe on his own anymore, thanks to his brain being deprived of oxygen for too long.

All this, all that's happened, is because of him, Ward. We trusted him, Fitz trusted him, even at the end he believed in Ward, believed that there was still good in him, but I know better. I've only been allowed to see Ward once since we brought him in. Coulson wanted me to treat his wounds given to him by May, after that I've only seen him on the monitors in on his cell.

Guess he doesn't trust me not to kill him, and he's not wrong on that part. Regardless, I need to push those feelings aside and go in check on Fitz's vitals; who knows, maybe today is the day he'll wake up. One can hope, right? 

I reach for the door handle, gripping it firmly and I twist it and start to push open the door. "Simmons!" I freeze for a moment, before I turn to my left and see Agent Triplett running down the hall towards me. I quietly close the door, and turn my attention to Trip, who barely sounds out of breathe. "Agent Triplett, what is it?" He points behind him and says "We need you in the lab; Coulson and Skye just got back; and they brought in a body."

Oh dear, I wonder who it could be? "Who is it?" I ask. Now Triplett looks a bit broody, "It's Agent Shaw." He says. "Oh my, I remember him, from the HUB." He seemed nice enough, but then again I never really knew him, not personally anyway. "Yeah, he was responsible for pushing back Hydra at the HUB. He helped keep them from gaining control. He was a good dude." Oh, poor Trip; it sounds like he knew Agent Shaw better than most here. This must be especially hard on him.

"I'm sorry. But…what happened? How'd he die?" and more the pertinent question is, where has he been all this time? I know that Coulson was desperate to find him, but there was no trace of where he was or where he'd been. "That's what Director Coulson would like you to find out, the body's being taken to the lab; he didn't want any of the injured to see one of their brothers like that."

Completely understandable of course, "Understood, I'll head there immediately." It's an awful thing to think about, given the circumstances that have just come up but; I really need a vacation. "You need some company?" so polite and chivalrous. I give him a nod and soon we're off to the lab and hopefully we'll be able to find some answers as to what's going on here.

 **Landing Bay**

 **Skye**

We're here already? Damn, I was hoping to have this USB drive cracked by now, but after nearly an hour I haven't even come close. UGGGHHHH. Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong, maybe it's not the coding that I need to hack, but…I pause briefly and look over at A.C, and from the lack of expression on his face he's trying to focus on landing rather than the elephant in the room or dead body to be more precise.

He's been eerily quiet ever since we left Maine; Jaxx also seems quiet, but distant too, like his mind is somewhere else entirely. The humming of the engines along with Coulson flipping switches made more noise than the two of them put together. The only time that anyone ever spoke was when Jaxx asked A.C to take control during mid-flight. Now, under normal circumstances, A.C would be all excited, like a little kid at Christmas, about flying this one-of-a-kind, fully-restored, 1940's spy plane; especially since it was created by the Howard Stark, but today was anything but normal.

It seems like both Coulson and Jaxx are taking Shaw's death pretty hard. A.C seemed to respect and appreciate Shaw and his loyalty to SHIELD, even after everything went to crap. Yet after what happened to Agent Hand and the HUB falling under General Talbot's control, he seemed to just disappear. There was literally no trace of him anywhere, not until today; Coulson had wanted to recruit him back to SHIELD, but with no way to get in touch with him or even find him for that matter, it was next to impossible.

He didn't have'ta say it, because I knew from the emotionless expression on his face, that he felt somehow responsible. Whether he feels like he didn't try hard enough or didn't use all resources at his disposal, he won't ever live down his decision to stop looking. I know this because he felt the same way when I got shot by Ian Quinn, he felt responsible, even though it was my decision to go in.

I lean forward a bit just in time to see the hidden bay door opening up, like it was welcoming us home. I let out a quiet sigh of relief, even though this mission is far from over. Out of curiosity, I look behind me and see Jaxx just leaning against one of the passenger seats, staring at the body bag. He looks a bit out of phase; like he's looking off into the distance somewhere, or…it's as if he's remembering something from his past, something that involves Shaw.

I don't know what his connection to Shaw is, but I'm sure I'll find out one way or another. Meanwhile, A.C starts flipping switches and turning knobs, getting us ready to land. He lands smooth after which he starts shutting down all systems. I unclip my buckle, and leave the cockpit; I stop in the doorway briefly to put my laptop in my bag and shove the USB into my vest pocket. When I look over at Jaxx, he was like a statue, unable to move or not wanting to. And from his near emotionless expression, I know that he must be feeling the same way that A.C is.

I kneel beside him, but with his eyes closed he doesn't seem to notice me; it's almost as if he's off on his own little world, trying to get away from…everything. I gently place my hand on his shoulder, and his eyes opened, bringing him back to reality. He looked over at me, and…it was almost too much to take. All that pain, all that anger in his eyes, I've never seen anything like that before. He must've known what I was seeing, because he turned away quickly, without saying a word.

"Are you okay?" it's a stupid question I know, but still, I figured it's worth a shot, right? "I've had better days," he says. He looks back at me and this time the anger and pain are gone, almost like he's hiding it; saving it for later use, like how May does it. "But I've also had worse." He stands up, and I follow suit. Coulson lowers the ramp before joining us, "We all have," I had no idea that he was even listening, but then again… "Unfortunately, unless we can find Dr. Streiten, it's going to get much worse."

Ain't that the truth AC. "You're telling me," after which Jaxx turns to me and asks "Have you cracked that US…TV-drive-thingy yet?" Seriously? I couldn't help but smile a bit before pulling out the drive hidden away in my pocket and showing it to him. "It's USB, not drive-thingy and no, not yet. It's heavily encrypted and near impossible to crack." Both AC and Jaxx give each other a less than pleased look, meaning that they didn't like my answer. AC turns to me, "So you can't crack it?" Wow, okay now I'm insulted, and can't help but show it. He knows me better than that, I mean c'mon, computers are my thing.

"I said it was "near" impossible to crack AC, give me an hour." He seemed happy by my answer; I just hope I can deliver. Once the ramp is lowered both Coulson and Jaxx grabbed the handles of the body bag. They were almost synchronized as they carried their friend out of the plane. I take my time following them; I figured that they needed some space; once all of us were off the plane we were came face to face with Agent May and our newest recruit Mac.

They had a gurney set up and ready to take Shaw's body to the lab, hopefully there's something on him that could give us a clue as to where Hydra could've taken Streiten. May looks down at the body bag, curious, "Who is it?" Coulson looks at Jaxx, who nods, then back at the bag; he unzips it just enough to fold over the flap, revealing Shaw's face. He was a lot paler now than before, almost ghost-like; I couldn't help but turn away for a sec, I haven't yet gotten used to seeing dead bodies. Agent May tells me that it never gets any easier, and she should know being "The Calvary" after all.

Mac's expression is just as somber as everybody else's, "Damnit Shaw, what did you get into this time?" Coulson looks up at him, "I wasn't aware that you knew Agent Shaw?" The big guy looks up, "I did; in fact, me and him were recruited around the same time. We even bunked together at the Academy. He was a good man." May looks over at me, then Jaxx, then finally at Coulson; all in one smooth motion. "Where'd you find him?" she asks.

"Hidden inside an attic of a house in Maine," AC stopped for a moment to fold the flap back over and zip up the body bag. "The same house that Dr. Streiten was last seen in, before he was taken." May looks over at Jaxx, then back at Coulson, giving him a look in the process. "I'm guessing that you didn't find the good doctor then?" Coulson just stood there, with a little scowl and shook his head. Jaxx took a step forward, "We did find a Drive-thingy that may help us track down where Streiten was taken or at the very least-"

"What he was up to." May finishes his sentence; afterwards the two of them share a glance. Mac looks a little lost; he points at Jaxx and looks over at me and Coulson, "Who's this?" Jaxx looks up at him, but doesn't say a thing, instead I do. "This is Jaxx, he's-" "A consultant. I did some private work for Fury on occasion." AC just cuts me off; I don't know why though it might have something to do with the fact that he doesn't quite trust Mac yet. Which given recent events, I can understand why he's keeping some of his cards close to the vest.

 **Mac**

Something's off, like they're not telling me the whole story. I mean one minute they're off tracking down some former S.H.I.E.L.D. surgeon and the next they come back with Agent Shaw's corpse, and this "Consultant" guy. I've never heard of Fury using any consultant besides Stark. I can tell from looking at the guy that he's former military, probably army, definitely not a seal. But there's just something about this guy that's seems off; I don't know what it is, but I'm definitely going to find out what.

"Skye, why don't you and Mac take Shaw's body down to Simmons in the lab; and take Jaxx with you, he'll might just be able to brighten her day up a bit." Seriously, just like that? No checking him for weapons, or checking for trackers, nothing *sigh*. What is it about this guy that would have Coulson just giving him the keys to the Playground? "You got it AC-I mean, Director." Director Coulson lets a smile slip just briefly, before he and May turn around, and head off to his office.

Whoever this guy really is, I'm going to find out what his agenda really is, but for now I'll play along. Hopefully Skye can decrypt the drive, and afterwards I'll forward a copy of it to Gonzalez and the others. Maybe then they can shed some light on this Dr. Streiten guy, and hopefully tell me what all the fuss is about with this "Jax" character.

Skye looks at Jax, then motions her hand towards the elevator and says "Elevators' this way." He nods and the two head over to it, while I start pushing the gurney. Once at the elevator Skye presses the button, as we wait, I glance over at this "Jax" guy. Seconds later the doors open and I push the gurney in first; I have to maneuver towards the back of the elevator so that we can all fit inside, which we're barely able to do.

Skye presses level 3 buttons, for Lab and Medical, then looks over at Jaxx and says "AC must really like you…" He appears confused when he looks over at her, "How ya figure that?" "Usually you have to go through a weapons check then you have to get checked for a tracer. After which you'd be given a lie detector test." He turns to her, letting a grin cover his face, "They're still using that thing?" "So, what's your deal?" I ask, interrupting they're conversation. He turns around, "My deal?" I nod and ask again "Yeah, your deal. Why are you here? Why are you even helping us?"

Skye turns around and gives me a look, one which shouts me that she doesn't care much about my questioning our new friend here. Regardless, I don't trust this guy. "You Shaw, right? You were close?" he asks, I nod a little "Yea, we were buds back at the Academy and after." He nods a bit, and then turns back around, facing the elevator doors.

"So, I'm guessing you know about his time in the military?" I can see Skye's eyes ping-ponging back and forth, "Yea; he told me that Fury himself sent him to Afghanistan as part of a joint Military-S.H.I.E.L.D. task force or something." Once again he nods, which makes me where exactly is he going with this? He turns around, "Did he ever tell ya bout Falusia?" Falusia…what's does that gotta do with any...wait a sec. Damn! He's that "Jaxx".

 **30 Seconds Later – Medical Bay/Laboratory**

 **Skye**

As soon as the doors open, Jaxx and I step out, while Mac pushes the gurney out. When the elevator doors close, he turns to Jaxx; from the look on Mac's face, I'm guessing he wasn't expecting to Jaxx to say what he did. "So, you're Captain Jaxx, 1st class." Jaxx just nods, which I guess confirms Mac's suspicions. Then out of nowhere, a smirked appears on Mac's face, "*scoffs* Thought you'd be taller." Jaxx chuckles and looks down for a bit. When he looked back up at Mac he replied sarcastically "Yea, I'm guessing I'm supposed to be 8' foot tall, breathe fire and shoot lighting out my ass too huh?"

Wow; I was not expecting him to start quoting Braveheart, which is like, my favorite Mel Gibson movie. I thought about this for a moment that is until I noticed Mac grabbing the ends of the gurney. He turned to Jaxx again, but this time, he looked extremely serious. "That was, a pretty hairy situation," And Jaxx wasn't smirking anymore, "Yea, yea it was." "He told me that you saved his ass a more than once out there."

Mac seems to have mellowed a bit, but Jaxx; he seemed a lil bit antsy, like he didn't want to talk about what happened there. "I was just returning the favor; that's all." His tone seemed distant; I think Mac could tell that he wasn't feeling comfortable talking about it, which is why me and Mac just dropped the subject all together.

Even leaning down, the big guy seems to overshadow both me and Jaxx; "Sorry about my questioning back there, it's just…with all that's happened recently," Jaxx put up his hand, stopping Mac in mid-sentence, "I understand, you gotta be careful with whom to trust nowadays." Mac simply nods, and a few seconds later, he holds out his hand, which Jaxx grabs.

Wow, I never thought that they would make up this quickly, and yet here they are, shaking each other's hands. Well, at least that's outta the way, which means we can get back on to the mission at hand. Mac leans down and starts to slowly push the gurney again, leaving Jaxx and I to follow. Okay, I know I told myself to just leave it alone but, I just had to ask. "If you don't mind me asking; what exactly happened in Falusia?" I could tell that he didn't want to really talk about it.

I should've just dropped the matter, I mean it's not like it's any of my busi- "What happened over there," I'm kinda surprised he said anything, I figured he just change the subject or something. "It was complete and utter FUBAR." Now I understand, and now I feel like I really should've left it alone. But despite my good conscious I keep prodding for more Intel "That bad huh?"

He slowly nods, "Yeah, that bad. Lost a lotta good men." His tone is just so…somber; "Sorry to hear." I know my condolences won't help much, but I had to at least try, right? Once again he nods, and replies with a lowly "Thanks." the lab is just around the corner, where Simmons is waiting on…AWW crap, I almost forgot. Now might not be the best time to ask this question, but, you know; no time like the present.

"Umm, can I ask you another question?" He looks at me, and a grin forms "Do I have a choice?" his sarcasm/grin combo causes me to smile a bit, "No, not really." We both chuckle a lil bit, after which he shrugs, "Well then, since I don't have a choice; shoot." Now's my chance; ok girl, stay on target and don't waver.

"Well it's just, from what I've been told; you and Simmons know each other pretty well." He continues to smirk, "Yeah well, I should seeing as how she's-" "Hey guys, we're here." SERIOUSLY MAC! I was this close to getting an answer, this close; another 3 seconds and I would've had my answer, geez. There still might be time to get an answer; when I look over at Jaxx, he turns to the shatter-proof window and walks over to it. He just stands there staring through it, just watching Simmons gathering her tools in preparation for Shaw's body.

She's so focused on what she's doing that she doesn't even notice him standing there. It's been almost a minute and he hasn't moved from that spot; standing there like some sort of statue. It seems kinda creepy him just to stand there, but then again; I don't know the whole story between them two. Well, if Mac hadn't so rudely interrupted me I would've, that big jerk.

The lab doors open and Mac pushes the gurney inside just as Simmons finishes gathering her tools; I'm half-tempted to wait for Jaxx, but choose to follow Mac. I find Simmons waiting, and when she forces a half-hearted smile onto her face, it's just…painful to watch. "Hi Skye, good to see you, how are you?" I wish I could say it was going well but, well, it's not. So I shrug, "Could be better but, not too bad I guess," she nods while still smiling and says "Well I'm glad to hear."

She looks down at the bag, grabs the zipper, and then starts to unzip it; she stops about halfway to flip the flap open. Her half-hearted smile quickly disappears, "Agent Shaw, aww you poor thing…" it's hard to ignore the despair in her tone, hell, the entire room feels somber. And having a fellow agent lying on a gurney in front of us doesn't make it any easier. "What happened?" she asks, as she unzips the bag a little more; I guess so she can examine the body further.

"No idea; we found him inside the attic of a house that Dr. Streiten was hiding out in." she looks up immediately when I say his name, "Dr. Streiten, he's alive?" I give her a nod, "Well he was, and still is a far as we know." I look up from the body and I notice the look of concern in her eyes as they shoot back and forth between me and Mac. "Who exactly is this Dr. Streiten guy?" His question is straight forward, but makes Simmons straightens up nonetheless.

Simmons and I give each other a concerning glance; I mean, only Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and apparently Jaxx know the truth about Dr. Streiten and his serum outside of the original team. Mac is a great guy and all, but this is way too sensitive and way too close to home for me. "Oh my, yes," she smiles, but seems to be a bit flustered; just hold it together for a bit longer Simmons. "He worked with us before…as a…consultant. On a case, that is."

From the look he's giving me and Simmons, I could tell that he was suspicious of her answer. She never was really good at lying on the spot, "A consultant huh? On what case, if you don't mind me asking?" Simmons just stands there, frozen by Mac's question; her mouth starts slowly moving, but no words come out. I can almost see the wheels and gears going into overdrive, trying to figure out what to say; it doesn't help any that Mac just stands there staring at her with his arms folded across his chest. "Which case? The case it was…um," she's being overwhelmed, and flustering, but lucky for her I don't have a problem with lying on the spot.

"Dr. Streiten was our consultant on the Mike Peterson case." He looks taken back a lil bit. Guess he wasn't expecting that answer, "So this, Dr. Streiten, consulted with your team on Deathlok?" I hate that name, and I'm not afraid to tell him so, "No not Deathlok, Mike Peterson." He leans against the counter behind him, and says sarcastically "There's a difference?" okay that's it, I mean, I'm sure Mac has his reasons for being a little douchey right now but that's no reason for taking shots at Mike. "Mike is a good guy who, was forced into working for Hydra. They had his son for crying out loud."

He puts his hands up, as if he's surrendering or something "Okay, okay I get it. Sore subject, sorry." Great, now I feel like a bitch, but it's just…this day has just been exhausting. Well, the good news is that I think Mac bought our story, for now at least. "So Simmons," we need to focus and get back on the task at hand, "Coulson wants you to run a full workup on our friend here," I only look down at Shaw's face for a second, because it's all that I can take.

"Am I looking for anything in particular?" she asks. I look up at her, and shrug, "Anything that could tell us where Hydra could've taken the doc." She smiles briefly and nods "Got it. Now then, let's see what we've got here…" she turns around to the tray table behind her and grabs a pair of latex gloves; she starts to put them on, while I look over at the observation window to see…nothing. Where the hell is Jaxx? Where could've he-*snap of latex* Simmons startles me as she snaps her glove.

She grabs Shaw's chin and forehead gently and slowly turns it towards me. I don't know why I took a step back; guess I'm not used to seeing this part of the job and I hope I never do. She leans in close; examining his face and neck first. "There's some bruising which started to form around his cheek and left eye. Meaning the attacker was most likely right-handed. There also a slight laceration above his right brow. There's some slight discoloration around on his neck but, this stippling pattern around his neck is very interesting."

Mac and I lean in for a closer look; can't believe I didn't notice that before. "So he was choked from behind?" Mac said what I was thinking, "That would be probable. But I can't determine what the attacker used, yet." I hate to say this but, it's nice to see her working again. It's been almost a week since I've seen outside of Fitz's recovery room; hell, I remember a few times when Coulson and I had to bring her food because she forgot to eat. It's never going to be like it was, before; but for right now at least, it feels like nothing has changed.

She turns Shaw's head back to its original position, and then she gently lifts up his arm. There's cut's on his jacket sleeve, and it looks like there's some blood on the cut's too. "Curious," she says, laying his arm back down on the table. She turns around and grabs some fancy looking scissors, and starts cutting up it. After cutting to the shoulder, she puts the scissors back and opens up the sleeve and…Oh my God! His arm is…it's like he was attacked by, something…something not human. "Oh jeez," I couldn't help it, and from the looks on Mac's and Simmons' faces they were as shocked as I am.

"Oh dear…" she says, lifting his arm up again; Mac looks the worst outta all of us, as he walks over to next to Simmons to get a closer look at the wounds. "What the hell…did this to him?" it doesn't take a top-notch agent to hear the fear and uncertainty in Mac's voice. Simmons doesn't look up, instead she continues examining, and "I cannot say, but from the angle of the cuts, I can say the attacker was between 5'10 to 6' foot. And from the position of said wounds, it would appear that he had his arm over his head; as if he was-" "Shielding himself from the attacker." I almost jumped a bit when I heard his voice.

All three of us turn to the doorway to see Jaxx standing there, seconds later he takes a few steps forward and stops just a few feet away. I look over at Mac, who seems just a little fazed, but Simmons looks like she's just seen a ghost. Her lips slowly move, but only one word comes out, "Jaxx?" she almost whimpers his name, meanwhile he takes another step forward and gives her a smile. "Hey, how'ya been?" Her eyes start to well up, but before the tears could flow, she walks over and hugs him. He wraps his arms around her, holding her tight.

He plants a kiss on the side of her head, while she starts crying; "Hey now Jemstone, what'ya crying for?" he whispers, but she continues crying. I gotta admit, I'm starting to get a little emotional; I haven't seen this part of Simmons in a long time, not since…Well, I look over at Mac who seems unfazed by this very emotional scene, but I know that he's just a big ol' teddy bear at heart. They keep hugging for about a minute before releasing each other. She starts to wipes the streaks of tears from her cheek, trying to regain her composure.

He laughs a little, "I missed you too Jemstone." She chuckles a bit, while wiping her eyes, "Oh bloody hell; I must look like a mess." "You look fine Jem." He explains, gently grabbing her shoulders; "What are you doing here?" she asks curiously. He shrugs, and says sarcastically "I was in the neighborhood." Well, I don't know about Mac, but I'm completely speechless. Guess they're really, really close; "Sorry to interrupt this, reunion, but-" I give Mac a swift punch in the shoulder for interrupting their little reunion.

He looks at me, a little surprised that I did that, for which I give him a look and mouthing _**Shut it**_. "What Mr. Teddy Bear here is trying to say; is that, Jemma never mentioned you, like, ever?" Jaxx's smile is quickly fades; he looks at me with a confused look. "Really?" he says. He then looks over at Simmons "Never, ever mentioned me? Really?" Simmons looks like a doe caught in the headlights as she shrugs "It, never really came up." He stands there, nodding slightly for a few seconds, before she looks at him.

Now she looks agitated, "Oh don't give me that look, like you tell all your friends about me at'tall." Wow, go Simmons. Out of nowhere he breaks into a laugh, and holds his hands up as if he's surrendering. "Just kidding, just kidding, damn. It's good to see that you haven't changed Jemmy." She rolls her eyes and scoffs, "You know I don't like it when you call me Jemmy." He continues to chuckle for a bit. Mac leans close to me and whispers "So, what exactly is the deal with them two anyway?" "Apparently they have 'history'." I whisper back.

I can tell from his new expression that he's thinking the same thing I am at this point. Then all of a sudden I hear something that I haven't heard in a long time; both Mac and I turn to see Simmons nearly falling over from laughing. Turns out that AC was right; Jaxx did manage to brighten up her day, and I'm glad that he was right. However, now that the two of them are so chummy-chummy, the curiosity is killing me and I just have to know.

So, I take a couple steps forward, while make keeps a step behind me, "I haven't heard you laugh like that in a long time Jemmy." She stops laughing and gives me a look, one that tells me that she really doesn't like that nickname. She turns to Jaxx and slaps him across the shoulder, "You see what you started with that?" He just stands there, giggling, which makes her slap him again, "It's not funny!" she says, raising her voice slightly. He stops giggling for a minute and replies "Actually it kinda is…" the look she gives him…well, let's just say is looks could kill.

He wasn't laughing or giggling anymore, but he did clear his throat and mouth the words _**I'm sorry**_ to her. Okay Skye, time to go for the kill; "I guess you two are really close huh?" Simmons looks at me, "Well of course, given our history Skye." So, they admit that there's history there; phase 1 complete, on to phase 2. "History, interesting…" now she looks so confused while Jaxx; seemed to know exactly what I was implying.

"Wow Skye just…it's nothing like that." Now I'm confused, but glancing over at Simmons, she just looks lost. "It's not like what?" he turns to her, leans in and whispers something in her ear. From the look on her face, she was disgusted by what he told her, after which she turned to me and said "For crying out loud Skye! You think…I mean…the two of us as…eww!" Wait, I just asked a simple question and now all of a sudden I'm the bad guy. "Whoa, whoa, I never said anything like that, I just-" as I throw my hands up like I'm surrendering, I find myself at a loss for words.

I literally can't figure out what to say; huh…that's a first. Jaxx just smiled, "Relax, its ok. But it's nothing like that, in fact she's actually my-" "He's my brother Skye." Brother!? She did just say brother, right? Huh…that explains… "If he's your brother, then how come-" Mac starts to ask, but then Jaxx interrupts him, saying "I'm adopted." Well, ok then…that explains a lot actually.

 **Director Coulson's Office**

Philip Coulson and Melinda May have known each other ever since their days as recruits at the academy. To those around them, it would seem that they know every aspect of each other's lives; from their habits to their combat prowess to their ongoing relationships, and at times, it was almost as if they knew what each other were thinking. Even their trust in one another seemed unbreakable, but during S.H.I.E.L.D.'s collapse, certain unknown truths were brought to light which seemed destined to break said trust. In the end, it seemed as if they managed to come through another trial by fire, a little scorched, but seemingly unchanged; at least in agent May's mind.

But for Coulson everything has changed, for not only is he now Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., a now branded terrorist organization, but he's also been keeping a secret from those he trusts most; the very people that he considers, family. John Garrett, before his ultimately yet well-deserved death, started carving strange symbols uncontrollably spouting things that no one understood all because of a serum. The very same serum which, not only courses through his veins, but now exists in the blood of who some would consider, his surrogate daughter, Skye.

But unlike Garrett and himself, she has yet to display the same urge to carve those strange symbols, or any other side-affects that Garrett had and that he himself now have. For weeks now, he's been carving those very same symbols; in secret, he's been trying to figure out why this is happening now and if it could be stopped. Yet, by investigating this in secret, away from those who could in fact help him discover some clue to this, illness; he has hindered himself and has started to wonder. How long can I keep this up, can I find a cure to this, and if not will I become like Garrett?

He ponders on these questions even now as he sits in his office, staring off into nothingness while a clearly irate Agent May, who words of concern, seems to fall on deaf ears. It was like he was asleep, yet his eyes were open, as the symbols seem to appear all around him; then it hits him, that sudden and uncontrollable urge to carve them into anything. His finger started to twitch, and him looking out of the corner of his eye to find his knife, just lying there from before. The temptation seems almost too great, as his hand slowly inches over to it, until that is, he hears something which snaps him back to reality…"COULSON!?"

 **May**

"Phil!?" his eyes snap to mine, it seems raising my voice snap him out of whatever haze he was in. But when I look into his eyes, I see something, something I don't recognize. He looks confused, like his mind is somewhere else, someplace else. "Are you even listening?" I know the answer, even before asking; he crosses his arms, which tells me that he's keeping a secret, from me, from the others. "I understand your concerns May I really do, but we needed to move on this. The longer that Dr. Streiten is in Hydra's possession, the better the chance they have of recreating GH. 325."

He's deflecting, and he always deflects when he's hiding something, but I'll play along, for now. "Believe me; I know what's at stake if they manage to recreate the serum." He looks down at his shoes, I haven't seen him do that since…Damn, I can't believe I didn't see it before; "But this isn't about Dr. Streiten, or Hydra; is it Phil?" he back up at me, and his face goes pale; "What do you mean? Of course this is about-" he pauses; he's on the defensive, and despite every, I have to remain calm or he could close himself off even further.

"This is about what happened to Garrett; about what happened when he took the serum, the very same one that was given to you and Skye." His eyes widen, and he goes pale; hopefully once the truth is out in the open, he'll finally let me in, finally let me help him. "You think that what happened to Garrett will happen to you and Skye." He lets out a sigh, I'm guessing because someone else besides him knows about his secret. "I'm sorry May, I know I should've come to you with this but I just," his arms un-cross and grip the edge of his desk; he lowers his head, as if he's trying to hide the shame.

I take a couple steps forward, and gently grab his shoulder, "Phil, you're worried for nothing; it's just the stress, and with everything that's happened in the last few weeks, I'm not surprised. But I promise you, there's nothing wrong with you." He raises his head, and looks straight ahead, as if he's looking straight through me. "Coulson?"

 **Coulson**

That's just it, I'm not fine, and I'm sure as hell far away from okay. She thinks it's the stress, but it's not; it's the serum, it's changing me like it did Garrett and I don't know how long I can hold on. All I want to do is tell her what's really going on; tell her about how all I dream about is those damn symbols, and that I've barely gotten any sleep because of them. But I need her focused on the mission at hand, on finding Streiten; because maybe, just maybe he might be able to help, make the symbols go away or something.

"You're right May, with everything that's been going on, maybe I need a moment to just…unwind. But it'll have to wait, at least until we get Dr. Streiten back from Hydra." She nods, removing her hand and standing at attention. "Understood, Director. I'll go check and see if Skye has cracked that USB drive." I nod in agreement; as she walks over to the door, I'm still tempted to tell her the truth and then suddenly, like she read my mind or something she stops, just shy of opening the door. She turns around and I feel like I know what she's going to ask, "You'd tell me if there's anything else going on, right?" I stand at attention and force myself to lie, "Of course." I hate forcing a smile on my face, but I'm just hoping that she buys it. There's a feint hint of concern on her face, for just a second, before she nods one last time, then she opens the door and walks out.

I take a couple of deep breaths after the door closes, and walk around my desk and flop down in my chair. I look over at the desk pad, and slowly move it over, re-revealing the symbols I carved early. Brushing my fingers across it, and I can feel the urge slowly begin to fade. And for a moment I'm relieved and feel at ease, but like so many times before; it won't last, it never does.

I've been fighting this urge for a few hours now, but I don't think I can anymore. That's when I remembered; my knife is in my inner jacket pocket, all I have to do is…my hand shakes as it reaches into the pocket to retrieve the knife. It's like someone else is controlling my actions, and I'm just along for the ride. I flick the blade open, and stare at the tip; it's a little worn from all the carving, but it's still usable.

Flipping the blade downward, I watch as it slowly descends to the unfinished symbol; the tip just touches the oak top, and…please, I just wanna stop, I just- "Director Coulson sir." I flinch, like a fresh faced recruit straight out of the academy. I haven't done that in years; not since the Destroyer paid us a little visit. Although in my defense, I wasn't expecting Billy Koenig to call, regardless, it stopped me from carving more symbols into my desk so, I'm thankful.

I press the receiver button, "What is it Billy?" I might've sounded a little agitated, but I'm hoping he didn't notice. "Everything alright sir?" crap, he noticed. "Everything's fine; what do you have to report?" just try and keep it casual, relaxed. "Simmons needs to see you down in the laboratory, she has an update on Agent Shaw." Hopefully she's found something that could tell us where Hydra is holding Streiten. One could only hope, "Understood, I'm on my way." I press the end call button, after which I look down at the symbols.

The urge is still there, but it's not as potent as it was before. I click the knife closed, and put it back in my pocket, "You'll have to wait." I don't know why I'm taunting the symbols, but it does make me feel better. I stand up, and button up my jacket; time to go to work, Director.

 **Medical Bay/Laboratory**

 **5 minutes later**

 **Skye**

"*under her breath* Damnit, that should've worked. Okay then, let's see if this will…NO NO NO you stupid freakin, UGGGHHH!" WHY, WHY, WHY can't I crack this stupid USB drive? It's been sitting here over an hour, and all that I've manage to accomplish is getting pissed offed! Stupid freakin…*shakes the laptop violently*. "You, stupid piece of-"

"Whoa there girl," I was so focused on trying to kill my laptop, that I didn't even notice Trip standing there. "How long have you been standing there?" I ask. "Just a little while ago; before you started going all Bruce Banner on that laptop there." _HAHAHA_ that's so not funny. But he's right, I am losing my cool, and it's all thanks to this stupid thumb drive. "That's because this freakin drive is pissing me off." He kneels down next to me, "You don't say?"

I give him my don't-make-me-angry look, which lean back a ways. Trip's a great guy and all, but today has been so hectic that I'm almost at a loss for words; which almost never happens. "Sorry Trip it's just *sighs*," "Been one of them days huh?" god Trip, if you only knew. "Yeah, something like that." I start banging my head against the wall behind me, only to stop after the 4th hit. "I'm not much of a hacker, but i do know that banging your head against the wall; isn't going to help anyone."

Yeah I know that Trip, it's just—oh great, now the back of my head hurts; "Well at this rate, I'm not going much help to anyone, much less Dr. Streiten." I look back at the screen in front of me, seeing the same **Access Denied** staring back at me. Trip taps my leg, and when I look at him, he gives me that reassuring smile of his, "Don't worry about. You'll figure it out; you always do." Sorry Trip, but your charm isn't going to help this time; but he's right, I have to figure this out, I have to.

"I have one last thing left that I can try *types into the keyboard*. *mutters to herself* Please work, please work." I hit enter, and wait; waiting to see if this is the end of the road or *bing sound* "YES!" FINALLY! I nearly jump to my feet when I see those sweet freakin words Access Granted. And it only took me over an hour and a couple of meltdowns to crack it; I can't help but let a smile slip. "Wow," I'm still smiling when I look up and see Jaxx standing there, smiling back at me. "I'm guessing that that beautiful smile of yours means that you've finally cracked that thumb drive, right?"

"Yes, yes I have and it only took me," I look at my non-existent wrist watch, and then back up at him "Over an hour and a half." He continues smiling, which is when I notice his cute dimples; whoa girl, get your mind back on task and not on him. "I'm glad, cause for a minute there, I thought you were going to pop a blood vessel or something." FU-UN-NY. Now, without any further delay, maybe I can finally find out what Shaw was hiding in here.

I hear Trip introducing himself to Jaxx; "The names' Antoine Triplett, but everyone round here calls me Trip." "Jaxx." He replies. "Jaxx…?" Trip asks, I guess he was expecting Jaxx to give him a last name. "It's just Jaxx." He replies. Jaxx turns to me, and holds out his hand, "Need a hand." I reach up, take his hand and I hoist myself up. Crap, my legs must've fell asleep, my butt too for that matter. "Legs asleep?" what the…how does he keep doing that; it's almost like he read my mind.

"I…*stammers then scoffs* no." Wow, I don't think I could sound any less convincing, even if I tried. I've been off my game since I met Jaxx; for some reason, there's just something about him that's so familiar, I just can't put my finger on it. "Well, hopefully now that you've cracked that thumb drive we can finally figure out where they've taken the good Doc." Oh Jaxx, if only. "It's not going to be easy." Both the boys have the same confused look, but only Trip says "Why's that?"

"Because," time to explain, "According to the drive there's well over 12 terabytes of information here. It's gonna take some time; time that we may not have." Trip looks less confused and more concerned, while Jaxx just scoffs. "Don't worry; we'll get it done." Wait a sec, did he…that's what it is. All this time and I should've seen it; he's like a less twisted-mirror version of him, of Grant Ward. A chill rushes over me, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. I look away to try and gather my thoughts and to think about something, anything else besides that murdering traitor.

"You okay?" I look up to see Jaxx looking concerned, and suddenly without meaning too, I meet his eyes. They're so different from Ward's, in so many ways. The last time I looked into Ward's eyes was the day they threw him in that cell. All I saw was cold, emotionless-death, but Jaxx's; god girl stop looking into his eyes for crying out loud. "Earth to Skye, this is ground control; are you there?" Focus girl, and change the subject, "Yea, no it's just…I was just thinking of a question I asked you earlier." He folds his arms in front of his chest, and smiles a bit "What question was that?"

"I was just wondering…how can I get a cool nickname like yours and agent May's?" his smile fades quickly. Maybe I should've just-"What do you mean?" Trip asks. "You know. May is 'The Cavalry' and Jaxx here is 'The Swor -" Jaxx shushes me, multiple times before turning around to look at Simmons. "*whispers* Wha…are you telling me that your own sister doesn't know that your 'The Sword'?" his eyes widened and the look of…fear on his face gives me my answer. "*whispering still* How could she not know?" I ask, "*growly whisper* Because, I haven't told her that's why, now shush okay."

Wow, talk about awkward; I can't believe he hasn't told her about his other life. "Hold on a second. Are you telling me that your 'The' Sword?" from his tone I'm guessing Trip didn't know about Jaxx's secret either. Jaxx's eyes darts over to me before darting over to Trip. He slowly nods, which gives Trip his answer. "Whoa. That's…I thought you'd be taller and…less pale." Jaxx mutters something under his breath, before shooting him the "Evil Eye". Couldn't help but crack a smile, which, he notices, unfortunately.

"So, are any of the stories they say true?" Trips question makes Jaxx fold his arms once again. "Depends on the story I guess." He replies with no virtual hint of emotion in his tone. I've seen that look on Trip's face before; that look tells me that he's not through asking questions yet. "What about Barcelona? Any of that true?" "What's the story with Barcelona?" I ask, trying my best not to sound like some S.H.I.E.L.D. groupie or whatever.

"Well you see; our boy here supposedly infiltrated an enemy militia compound that was trying to sell of weaponry stolen from Stark Industries. The story goes that he not only destroyed all the weapons, but also managed to take out over 75 heavily armed militia fighters. With nothing more than a backpack, full of C4 and a sword, hence the name." Wow that's…I gotta admit I'm having a hard time believing all that. "Okay, there's no way that any of that is actually true I mean, c'mon. You took out over 75 guys, really?"

Jaxx smiled and shook his head, "I know right," see I knew Trip was just yanking my chain. "It was only 35, not 75. I swear that number gets bigger each time." Wait, what? "And it was a Kukri not a sword, plus I wasn't alone; it was a small 3 man infiltration team, Barton, Romanoff, and myself." Is he joking right now?! He spent time with "The" Black Widow and Hawkeye? As in The Avengers?! "Whoa, whoa, whoa go back a sec. You were on a mission with both Black Widow and Hawkeye? Seriously!?" my voice breaks a little and he gives me the same look he gave me before; I whisper "Sorry it's just…it's freaking Widow and Hawkeye man."

He shrugs, "It's not a big deal. Hell it wasn't even my first op with Romanoff or Barton." Okay wow, I'm just…I'm almost at a loss for words. "How many ops have you been on with them?" it seems that Trip is finally as curious as I am, which seems to be aggravating Jaxx even more; win-win. "I dunno, maybe 5. 6 if you count Barcelona." Wow, I don't know what's more shocking; the fact that Jaxx here has worked with two of the Avengers or that he's being just so glib about it. "You might not think that this is a big deal, but it is, a very big deal." I say.

He just stands there, sighing and shaking his head, "Let's just move on…please? Before Simmons overhears-" "Overhears what?" Damnit Simmons, give a girl a little warning next time before you ninja-up on someone, jeez. I look over at Trip who glances at me briefly before looking back at Simmons. "Nothing, nothing important we're just, uh *stammering*…" I can't believe I'm seeing this; Jaxx is flustered. Why doesn't he want her to know about his connection to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Part of me kinda wants to tell her, mainly because no good can come from keeping a secret like this; but the other part, keeps telling me that he must be keeping it from her for a good reason.

"It's nothing really, Trip here was just telling Jaxx some of S.H.I.E.L.D's tall-tales and legends." I hate lying to Simmons, but unlike her, I can pull it off. "Really, what sort of tales has our agent Triplett been telling my brother here?" Crap, should've known that she'd ask that; it's okay, it's fine, I just gotta come up with-"Just some that involve our very own agent May; why they call her the Cavalry and all that." Thank god for Trip, because I was drawing a blank.

Simmons has a nervous smile plastered on her face, and she leans over to Jaxx "She doesn't like to be called that by the way. And you definitely don't want to get on her bad side," she tensed up all of a sudden, and now her nervous smile has turned into a full-blown nervous look, one which she aims my way. "She's not…behind me, is she?" okay yea, I get it. I'd be nervous too if I was talking about May. "You're good girl." Trip says. Simmons exhales, like she was holding her breath for days.

Wait a sec, I wonder…how much does she actually know, about the Sword? "Yea Trip here was just about to tell us about another supposed bad-ass S.H.I.E.L.D. player; someone named 'The Sword'?" I didn't think Jaxx's face could turn any paler and yet, Simmons on the other hand; from the look on her face, she definitely wasn't expecting me to ask about Jaxx's other, secret persona. "Oh my; now that's a name I haven't heard since I was a freshman at the Academy. Some of the seniors would tell us some pretty interesting rumors about that one."

"Reeaaallly," just when I couldn't get any more curious; of course, Jaxx looks even more aggravated than he did before. Normally at this point, I'd stop aggravating, but it's just; I have to hear more about Jaxx's SWORD persona. "What sort of rumors?" I ask, and Simmons didn't seem to mind answering, "Well, granted this are unsubstantiated rumors, but the one thing they all have in common is that The Sword; isn't human."

Jaxx rolls his eyes, and shakes his head a little; "You can't be serious?" he says. Simmons looks at him, innocent, throwing her hands up "I'm simply repeating what I was told. However, there are some who say that he is a work of pure fiction." Oh Simmons, if only you knew how wrong you are. "Well, no one believed that Thor existed, or that aliens would invade New York, until they came knocking." Score one for Trip, "Trip does make an interesting point." I say. Simmons sighs, "I'm not saying that he doesn't exist, but the problem is that there are too many variables."

"What do you mean?" I ask. Simmons shakes her head, "What I mean, is that there are multiple stories running around out there about who or what he is, and where he comes from…for instance; one story states that he was adopted and raised by 'The' Nicholas Fury and trained to be the ultimate assassin." Really, I don't get that vibe from him of course; it's hard to tell with that scowl-ly look on his face. "I heard that he was a part of a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. program to recreate the super soldier program."

Now Jaxx shoots that scowl of his at Trip, who just looks and smiles; Jaxx sighs and shakes his head, rubbing his forehead. "Or how about the one, where he is the sole survivor of an alien world *scoffs*?" Trip laughs a little "Yea I heard that one too." Both Trip and Simmons start laughing, but Jaxx; he stops leaning against the cabinet and gives Simmons and Trip a look, "You've got to be kidding me?" Jeez Jaxx, relax a little.

Trip just smiles and replies "Relax man, it's just a story. Right?" Simmons nods, "Exactly; just a story. But if it were true; one would have to imagine what such a person would be like? I mean from a scientific standpoint." Just wow; leave it to Simmons to turn a running joke, into some science analogy. "Really, Jemma…" Jaxx sounds less annoyed and more exhausted with each new tale that Simmons and Trip tell. "I'm serious, for instance; would his physiology even be compatible with our atmosphere? And if so, what sort of abilities would he have? Highly dense skin? Super Strength? Flight?"

Lame, been done, and wouldn't mind having that. "Maybe he could breathe underwater, or check this…he has a magic ring." All three of them at the same time look at me, giving me the that's-the-stupidest-thing-ever-said look. "*mutters under her breath* Just saying…" Jaxx shakes his head, and face palms his-self. "Skye, a magic ring…really? It's far more likely that he would gain significant physical attributes such as Hyper hearing or Super breath." Okay yea like being able to hear a quarter of a mile or being able to Hulk-like super breath is any more plausible than what I just said.

"Jaxx help me out here," I even ask nicely, but he just looks at me, somehow even more aggravated. "Don't look at me, you're the one who brought it up." "Brought what up?" FOR CRYING OUT- I turn around and see AC standing there in the doorway, trying and succeeding at scaring the ever loving crap outta me. The guys' like a freakin ninja.

 **COULSON**

I love doing that. It's one of the perks of being trained by Fury, that and all those sweet gadgets. Everyone seemed startled by my suddenly appearing out of nowhere; everyone except Jaxx, I never could get the drop on him, hell; I don't even think Romanoff could either. "Okay, firstly DC, don't ever do that again, and secondly," Skye starts on one of her-wait, did she just say DC? "When do I get to learn how to do that ninja stealth stuff?" Well, it all depends on ones' CO, and in Skye's case, well; "Level 3 Stealth and Tactics. It's in the handbook."

Don't worry Skye, you'll get there, it just takes time. But right now we need to focus on the mission at hand, "So, have you managed to crack that drive yet?" Skye nods, "Yes, and I'm already running a search algorithm on the most recently accessed files; but with over 3 terabytes worth of data on here, it's gonna take some time." Well, it's not exactly what I wanted to hear, but she's doing the best she can. "Simmons, anything jump out at you during your examination of Agent Shaw?"

I recognize that grim look on her face, which means I'm not going to like her answer "Actually sir, there are a few things that you need to see." Her tone confirms it; I'm not going to like what she shows me. All of us gather around Shaw, and for a second, everything goes quiet. I can't say what everyone else is feeling at the moment, I know Agent Triplett is mourning a friend. Skye and Simmons are probably feeling the loss too, but not as much; Jaxx on the other hand, he won't mourn his fallen friend.

No, he'll do that after, after we finish the mission that Shaw started. Sometimes I wish I had his mentality, being able to push all the pain, all the anger aside and focus on the mission. That's what I should be doing here, but I'm not able to focus partially because I'm worried that any second I'll lose my mind and become psychotic like Garrett.

"Sir?" What? Looking around I see the concerned looks on everyone's faces, even Jaxx. I must've gotten lost in my thoughts, and didn't even realize it. It's been happening more and more lately. Regardless, I have them suspect anything, so it's imperative that I focus. "I'm fine it's just… Agent Shaw was a good man; he didn't deserve this." I think everyone buys it, well, everyone except Jaxx; he can always tell when someone is lying, he's like a human lie-detector. He's pretty much a spy's worst nightmare, according to Romanoff that is.

Lucky for me I'm merely deflecting from the real issue; because in truth, I really do hate seeing Shaw just lying there, skin as pale and cold. Just like I was, before Fury put me through the T.A.H.I.T.I. program and turned me into whatever I am now. Skye puts her hand on my shoulder, and rubs it gently, "We'll get'em Coulson." I appreciate Skye's reassurance, "I know," but, what we need right now, is a lead. Which leads me to Simmons; hopefully she has something, "Simmons, what did you find during your exam of agent Shaw?"

"Quite a few things sir," she pauses to turn on the overhead lamp, and shines it on Shaw's face.

Coulson and company listened intently to Agent Simmons and her report on Agent Shaw. Per Director Coulson's request, Simmons left nothing out of her report; she started by showing the various bruising around the orbital sockets, which only showed in the late stages of decomposition. She also noted that he had a hair-line fracture to both his left orbital socket as well as the left side of his jaw. It seems like everyone except for Skye knew what this meant; Coulson later explained to her that this meant that the attacker was both right-handed and very strong.

Simmons moved everyone's attention down to Shaw's chest, where she stated that he had a crushed sternum and over 8 broken ribs, but also explained that this was in fact not the cause of death. There were also at least 7 stab wounds to the stomach, but they too were also as she stated, not the cause of death. Shaw's true cause of death was massive internal hemorrhaging; both lungs were punctured by his broken ribs, essentially causing him to drown in his own blood. Jaxx walked over to the table behind Simmons, to take a moment. All Skye could think of, was how that would be a horrible way to go; drowning and alone, no friends, no family, no help.

Her mind raced backwards, to the time where Ian Quinn shot her, twice, in the stomach. How she felt so cold, so alone, thinking is this it? I can't go out like this, not now, not when I'm so close to…She snaps back to this moment, and stares at Shaw's pale, expressionless face. All that was going through Trip's mind was what he was going to do to the person responsible, when he finally gets his hands on them. Simmons imagination got the better of her; she couldn't help but imagine the events that lead to agent Shaw's death.

She unknowingly held her stomach when her mind recreated the scene of Shaw getting stabbed. Luckily, she too managed to snap out of it, although the situation currently, wasn't much better. Coulson on the outside looked calm, cold, and even calculating, but on the inside; he was a man who rarely lost his temper, or at least kept it in check until whatever predicament they were in was over. But at the moment, seeing his agents, those he thinks of as family, standing there wondering how this could've happen, infuriates him. Even so, he remains cool and focused not because he doesn't care, or because he wants to; he does so because deep down he knows, that it's what's needed from him, at least for right now.

Jaxx didn't need a moment, for him, mourning of a fallen friend comes after, not before. To him this wasn't about his ill-conceived notions of right or wrong, or even Justice. For him, Hydra took away one of the few friends he has in this world, no; this is personal, this is all about revenge. But with the examination yielding no results, and Skye's program running, his vengeance would have to wait, which didn't sit well with him.

Jaxx tries to take a moment to collect himself; to get his thoughts in order, but he couldn't. There was something deep in the back of his mind chipping away at him, keeping him from focusing on the mission at hand.

 **Jaxx**

This is taking way too long; we should've found something by now, some sort clue, instead we've got nothing. Damnit, every moment I spend here among them, increases the risk of them finding out my secret. If any of them knew how dangerous I really am…well, that would be a problem. At least for now everyone seems so fixated on finding this Dr. Streiten guy, which gives me more time to cover my tracks. I've taken some time to watch everyone closely, in order to see where I stand with them.

I know for a fact that Coulson and Jemma both trust me, well enough not to ask too many questions. May has always had her suspicions about me, but she's become much more lax since staying on with Coulson and this new S.H.I.E.L.D. The only other variables I can see is agent Triplett here; a specialist, Garrett's protégé, and could pose a problem later on. The girl Skye on the other hand, I'll have to keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't go snooping where she shouldn't. If any one of them finds out my secret…no, I can't think like that. I've managed to fool everyone for this long… (Jaxx looks over his shoulder at Simmons, Coulson, Skye, and Trip) I can keep it up a little longer.

(He turns back to the table, and sees the bag with Shaw's personal effects sealed inside.) Since I'm here, I might as well be useful. (He turns around, looking at Director Coulson, who's still next to Skye as she continues searching the drive.) "Hey Coul," (Coulson looks over,) "You mind?" (Coulson nods.) "Be my guest." Thanks Coul. (He grabs the bag, and slides it in front of him.) Hopefully Shaw has some clues hidden somewhere in here, otherwise we're out of luck. (He opens the bag, reaches inside and pulls out Shaw's wallet,) Let's see what we've got here. Okay so, no cash, no credit cards. (Jaxx remove Shaw's social security card and a driver's license from the wallet. Almost immediately, he could tell that they were both forgeries.)

This is beyond sloppy workmanship, which means they were done in a hurry. This social security has way too many numbers, but it looks passable from a distance, his Driver's ID on the other hand; there's no holographic stamp, the picture is blurry, and the color is off. I never knew Shaw deal with such shitty credentials. (Coulson walks up on his right side.) "Find anything yet?" if I did, I would've told you. "Nothing besides a pair of really bad forgeries," (Jaxx hands them over to Coulson, who takes a closer look at the Social.) "It's not like Shaw to do such shoddy work." Coul squints his eyes a bit, while I nod, "I know. And if you think that's bad, check out the name on the ID." Coulson's in for surprise. (Coulson shuffles the social security card to the back and looks at the name on the ID.)

There's it is, that expression, that disbelief, "It can't be, this has got to be a joke, right?" I can see him trying, resisting the urge to smile, "Nope." He gives in and lets that smile show, "John Spartan, really?" he shakes his head as I shrug. "Yeah, I know," I chuckle a little bit, while Coul scoffs. "Wow, just when you think you've seen it all. Someone decides to go all Demolition Man," I look at him, and give him another shrug. "Look at it this way, at least he didn't choose Rambo, or Balboa this time." Coulson's smile is more prominent, and for a moment it was like old times. Unfortunately it's not, which means we need to get back to business; (Takes a closer look at the wallet.)

Nothing here either. I was kinda hoping that he had something sewn into the lining. But there's not a damn thing. (Jaxx hands the wallet off to Coulson, who takes a closer look at it as well. Jaxx then pulls out Shaw's jacket, and spreads it out on the table. He starts to feel around, seeing if there's anything else hidden within. First he checks the sleeves, and then he searched the outer pockets, then the inner.)

There's nothing here either, nothing except blood. I could smell it, even with it sealed inside the bag; you son of a bitch, why didn't he tell anyone, tell me. Even if Shaw had managed to survive his wounds and get patched up by Coulson's team, it would've only prolonged the inevitable. Simmons is great at what she does which means sooner or later she'll check his blood and come to the same conclusion. From his platelet count and the lack of drugs found on him or in his system, I'd say he had maybe 2 months, 3 max. Leave it to Shaw to go out swinging; better this way I guess, it ended quicker this way, instead of the cancer killing him from the inside. Part of me, wants to tell Coulson about this, but if I do; there'll be too many questions to answer, and eventually he'd get me to slip up and then…it'd be over.

No like I said, Jemma's good at what she does, I'll let her tell him; I just gotta make sure I look convincingly surprised when she does. (Jaxx focuses back on Shaw's effects and sees his boots inside the bag; he reaches inside and pulls them out, and starts examining them.) There's hardly any scuff marks here, (He turns the boot over to look at the soles.) The treads are worn, and the left shoe looks like it's starting to crack in the arch. Why wouldn't he just throw'em away? (He slowly turns the boot, looking for specs of dirt, or any other evidence. As he does this he sees something barely noticeable on the heel and feels around it. A look of disbelief splashes across his face,)

"No way, he wouldn't…" there are two worn impressions on either side of the heel. There's no way he would… (Coulson looks over in time to see Jaxx press in both impressions, which popped open a hidden compartment on the heel.) "Ha, and here I thought you were the only one into spy-craft." I set the boot down on the table, and slowly pull out the compartment. "Hey, don't knock it till you try it." Coulson replies. (Jaxx finds a small envelope inside. Jaxx and Coulson glance at each other briefly, before Jaxx hands it over to Coulson. He opens one end, and holds his other hand out as he proceeds to tip it. An SD card splotched with blood drops into his palm, and almost instantly the two shared a surprising look.)

I need to check the other boot, to make sure there's no other hidden prizes…Where did—Damn Coul, I haven't seen him move that quick since Baton Rouge, hell; I look away for just a second and he has already rushed the SD card over to Skye. "Skye, I need you to drop what you're doing," from the look on her face, I'd say Coul caught her by surprise. "New priority." He hands her the SD card, and without hesitation or question, she spins around on her stool, and grabs the tablet that was lying on the table behind her. "What's on it?" she asks, while inserting it into the tablet. "No idea, which is why I want you to find out." It seems like this whole 'Director' thing suits you Coul.

(Skye taps the screen on the tablet a few times; meanwhile Jaxx walks over and stands on Skye's right side, while Coulson stands on her left. A loading icon pops up, and stays up for a few minutes.) This part is the worst; the waiting, it makes soldiers like me feel useless, which is why I hate it. (A new screen appears, with just a single icon, a box in red with the words play in it.) Bout damn time, now maybe we can finally get some damn answers and stop playing catch up.

The tension in the room was at maximum threshold. To everyone, this could be the clue that finally leads them to Hydra and more importantly; to the good Dr. Streiten himself, hopefully before it's too late. Skye had sent the video to a local monitor, after which she handed the tablet over to her Director. He looked around the room, and took in everyone's expressions, before he looked down at the tablet; his finger hovered just above the screen as hesitation slowly creeped in. Suddenly, a multitude of thoughts and questions swarmed through his mind; what if this leads to another dead-end or another dead agent for that matter? What if Dr. Streiten was already dead and Hydra has begun mass producing GH.325?

He knew not the answers to these questions, or the other questions which streamed through his mind; all he knew is what was that this video could hold some answers or none, and yet it was still better than the alternative. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, he pressed the play icon and looked up with the others at the monitor in front of him. Seconds passed before the video actually started. At first the screen was black, and for a moment; some thought that perhaps the SD card itself was damaged somehow. That is until, Shaw entered into view, staring into the camera, as if he was the one watching a video of Coulson and company. He looked tired, worn, and beaten; there was a clear signs of bruising around his left eye, the same place where Simmons had found a hairline fracture.

Not only that, but Shaw himself seemed, almost as if he was struggling to breathe. From the looks of him, this was shot just before he died, making this his last testament. Shaw said nothing for nearly a minute, as he looked down from the camera. Then, once more, he looks straight into the camera, _**"Agent Coulson or Director; if you're watching this right now, it means *grunts out in pain* that in all likely hood, I'm dead. Which also means**_ _ **(video breaks up)**_ _ **failed to stop Hydra**_ _ **(video breaks up)**_ _ **…**_


	8. Ep1 Ch3 A Debt to be Paid pt5

**Disclaimer:**

 **Coulson**

Not good. (He continues watching as the video starts breaking up once more.) _**"I couldn't stop the-**_ _ **(video breaks up)**_ _ **Streiten *ZZZZTTTT*…**_ This is the last thing we need today. (He looks over at Skye.) "Skye," she turned around and I the look on her face told me that she has no clue what's going on either. Definitely, not a good sign. (He hands her back the tablet, and she frantically tries to figure out the problem. Meanwhile, the video continues to break up and cut out, making it near impossible to know exactly what he's saying. She finally stops, only to stare at the tablet,) "The video file, it's corrupted," she looks up at me for just a split second.

"So what, the card was damaged during the fight or something?" Trip wants answers, just like everyone else. "It's not external problem, it's an internal one. I'm not sure what's going on or if I can even-" (The video interrupted her,) _**"I've been monitoring Hydra's commun-*ZZZZZRRRRTTT* a while now**_ _ **(video breaks up)**_ _ **their up to some-**_ _ **(video breaks up)**_ _ ***grunts out in pain* Damnit!"**_

(Shaw leans his head back, then forward; his eyes were clenched shut, in an effort to try and control the pain he was currently enthralled to. Skye and Simmons both looked away, because seeing him in this state was becoming too much for them. Even Trip had to look away, even if for a moment; this left Coulson and Jaxx to remain watching, as their friend slowly succumbs to his wounds. The hardest part out all this, for them, was they knew how the video ends; Coulson only prays, for the sake of his team, that the video doesn't show it.)

" _ **Sorry about that*ZZZZZZRRRRTTTT*on't have much time le*ZZZZZRRRRTTTT*. But I know where he is, where they took*ZZZZRRRRRTTTT*iten. He's (video breaks up, for a few seconds)Islands. Repeat, they have him(video breaks up)Islands. The Exact coordina*ZZZZZRRRTTTTTT* (Video cuts out,)**_

(The screen turns to static, leaving all to wonder what just happened. Skye looks down at the tablet, and frantically tries to figure out what exactly happened. Coulson meanwhile, was thinking on the last words that Shaw had said.) There was something there, something about, Islands? Maybe Skye can clean it up, (He turns to Skye, who is still trying to figure out what had happened.) "Skye can you rewind it, back to the last part?" from the look on her face, and the way that she's tapping the tablet; the frustration must be setting in. "I'm trying AC, I'm trying; but there's a problem,"

(The tablet started becoming overwhelmed, and started to replay the video once more. This time however the images were distorted, either by having the wrong color or freezing in place altogether. Skye, at this point stopped any effort to restore any part of the video, as it was now out of her control. Suddenly, the tablet started to spark, startling Skye and causing her to drop the tablet onto the table in front of her. She took a few steps back, just as the tablet started to violently spark more and more. After nearly a minute it stops, leaving behind only a single flame, which soon snuffed itself out.)

 **Jaxx**

Well, that was…something. (Everything seemed to calm down, now that the tablet was, in a sense, dead. Coulson took a couple steps towards the table, his eyes trained on the tablet itself.) Easy Coulson, it might have another fit if you-(Coulson picks up the tablet, giving it a once over,) touch it. (After looking it over, he sets it gently back down on the table. Jaxx walks over next to Coulson, in order to get a better look. Jaxx looks for where the SD card was inserted, and once he found it; he grabbed a pair of tweezers and slowly pulls out the card. Once he does, he lifts it in front of his face, and takes a closer look.)

Damn, "I'm not an expert on this, but…*sighs* it looks fried." No sense in sugar coating it, besides; I'm pretty sure Shaw booby-trapped the card anyhow. I'll give him this much, he's pretty thorough, for a dead guy. (He sets the card and tweezers down on the table; the others gather around, looking at their last chance to find Dr. Streiten lying fried and destroyed on the table in front of them. Skye looked especially downtrodden,)

(Coulson looks up from the table, at Skye, having only one question that he needed her to answer.) "Skye, were you able to recover any of the data?" No, Shaw would've been too careful for that, and looking over at her and seeing that look in her eye. Well, that look tells me that her answer isn't the one that he wants to hear. "I'm sorry Coulson," (Simmons and Trip look over to her,) "I wasn't able to save any of it. It had a failsafe in case anyone attempted it, which is how," she eyeballs Coulson's new, and very charred, paperweight.

"It ended up extra crispy. I'm so, so sorry Coulson." I've seen that look of guilt in her eyes before; back on the plane, when she started talking about that guy she killed. It's not my place, but someone should say something; give her some hint of reassurance at least. "It's not your fault Skye," and there's lil sis Simmons to the rescue. (Simmons walks over to Skye, and comforts her by gently rubbing her shoulders,) "She's right Skye; you couldn't have known that Shaw had, Mission Impossibled the damn thing. Don't beat yourself up, girl."

Mission Impossibled, oh I'm gunna steal that from ya Trip. (Coulson walks around the table, and stands next to Skye. He places his hand on her arm,) "He's right Skye; Shaw would have had a contingency just in case the card fell into the wrong hands. And besides, we now have a lead, so chin up. We'll get'em." Lead? What lead? "Umm Coul, what lead are you talking about exactly?" I ask him, hoping he doesn't give me some cryptic answer. "From what I was able to make out, he said something about, the Islands. That's our clue."

Uhh yea, if that wasn't cryptic I don't know what is. (Trip looks over at Coulson,) "Do you think it's a code name for the base where they're keeping him?" Hmm Trip could be onto something, hell; I almost forgot how Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. love their code names. "Could be, Skye," before Coulson can finish, she already has her laptop and starts typing quick, fast, and in a hurry. "Checking the files for any reference to 'The Islands', which by the way, is a stupid name for a secret base." Uhh, really? "Isn't this place called 'The Playground'?" Crap, I shouldn't have said that.

(Everyone turns and looks at Jaxx, almost glaring at him,) "Okay, got it; don't make fun of 'The Playground'." (Everyone continued glaring at him, everyone except Skye, who went back to work searching for her objective, but still looking scornful.) "*mutters* Yea well, sorry it's not as cool as 'The Sword'." Really Skye? Did you really have'ta bring that up again? (Coulson looks over at Skye, a look of amusement on his face,)

"The Sword huh," I know that tone Coul, and that look…please don't make this any worse than it already is. (Skye hands stop typing, as she looks up and over at Coulson. The look of realization flickers across her face, when she realizes what she had done. Soon that realization was replaced with nervousness, not knowing how to repair the damage that she has done.) Crap, she's getting antsy, nervous; which is only going to make this worse.

(Jaxx walks over to the table with Shaw's personal effects once again, looking through them once again in an attempt to ignore what was heading his way.) Let them have their fun, it's fine, it's cool. Just find something to…(He thoughts stop, as he sees Shaw's fake ID and Social Card. He picks them up and just stares at them, while everyone behind him was talking; to him, they were most likely talking about his secret persona. At the moment however, his full attention was on the Card; something about it felt…familiar. He couldn't place it, but there was something…) I'm such an idiot!

(He turns around, and rushes over to the others; interrupting their current conversation,) "I know where it is!"

Everyone looked on, shocked by his sudden proclamation; some had wondered if he was simply trying to draw their attention from their current course of conversation. Soon however, he made his intent clear to them, stating that the last word that Shaw had spoken on the video, _**coordina**_. Even though it was cut off, everyone knew what he was trying to tell them. Shaw was about to tell them the exact coordinates as to where Hydra was keeping Dr. Streiten. Jaxx had laid the forged Social Security Card onto the table in front of them, giving them a chance to see what he sees.

 **Skye**

Okay, so it's a social card; a really bad forgery at that, but what's this have to do with finding Streiten? (She looks up from the card, shooting Jaxx a look of confusion.) "What does a bad forgery have to do-" (Jaxx interrupts her,) "Add these numbers to your search program?" Why? I mean seriously, what's all this about? He's literally given me nothing to go on. "Skye," (she looks over at Coulson,) "Humor him." (Skye sighs and shakes her head, but she does it regardless.)

"*mutters* Okay, fine, but I don't see how a set of random numbers, from a forged Social card are going to help us find Hydra or the Doc." I finish typing the numbers into my search program, even though it's just a waste of our time. I look up at Jaxx who seems awfully confident that he's onto something. "I know Shaw, better than most here. And I know for a fact that Shaw," (he picks up the Social card once more, parading it to everyone in the room.) "He would never, have taken such a piece of crap forgery like this, not unless…" he had a reason to. "These numbers (puts the card back down on the table.) aren't random at all."

(A few seconds later, her computer pings. She looks down to see that her search found something on those numbers that she typed in. And boy, was it a surprise in deed.) "*under her breath* I can't believe it." I look up from my laptop and over at Coulson, and Jaxx; both eager to know what I've found. "What is it Skye? Did your search program find something?" actually AC it did, and I never thought I would say this, but, "Jaxx was right, those numbers weren't random, they were coordinates."

(All seemed shocked by this new influx of information, all except Jaxx; whom seemed more relieved that he was right about Shaw leaving one last clue for him to find.) "Where do they lead?" well Trip; I hope you've had your shots. "To the Solomon Islands. More specifically,"(She brings up satellite imaging from the area, and zooms in on the area where the coordinates lead to. She then turns the laptop around for Coulson, Trip, and Jaxx to see.) "Here. The locals call this not-so-small island 'Oblivion'. *mutters sarcastically* Not ominous or reassuring, like, at all."

(Sarcasm aside, most everyone was thrilled; at least in the sense that they've finally managed to catch up with Hydra, and if they play their cards right. Might even get a step ahead of them.) "Good work Skye." I love it when he gives me a compliment, but I'm not the one he should be giving it to. "Couldn't have done it without Jaxx." Now he shoots me that, devilish smile of his. Finally, we're done being two steps behind Hydra, and it's about damn time.

"Trip, I need you and Billy to gather the gear; Icer's, food rations, anything that we could possibly need, scrounge it up." I know Trip just got back from rescuing some agents, but I also know that he's more than eager to get this show underway. "Understood sir." He smiles before he rushes out of the room, leaving the rest of us waiting for orders. "Skye," yay my turn. "Scroll through the archives, find out anything and everything you can about this, Oblivion; and cross-reference them with that thumb drive. We need to know what we're walking into, before we walk into it."

Is it weird that I love this part of the missions, or is it just me? "On it."

 **Simmons**

"Simmons, I need you to get vaccinations ready for Trip, Jaxx, and myself ready; the last thing we need to contract is typhoid fever while on mission." Coulson can't leave me here, not when my only chance to save Fitz is out there somewhere. "You're not going without me AC," Skye, always the rebel, always defying orders, and expectations. (Coulson looks over at her, about ready to say something when,) "Or me sir." I can't believe I just said that, well, believe it actually seeing as how I just said it not 3 seconds ago and now I'm blabbering on and on so I'm just going to stop, right now.

(Coulson, Skye, and Jaxx all look at her, looks of shock and surprise washing over they're faces.) "Simmons, I know why you feel the need to go." He knows? How could Director Coulson possibly know? "You do sir?" (He walks around the table and over to her, and gently grabs her shoulders,) "Dr. Streiten, he created the serum that save Skye and brought my back from the dead. And you want to use it on Fitz." BLOODY HELL, HE KNOWS! Well of course he knows you ol' girl, he's the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. after all!

"Sir, I just…" I've got to get him to believe that that's not my agenda because I know how he feels about the serum, GH.325. Even after we saved Skye using it, the two of them nearly locked away, deeming it too dangerous to use ever again. Yet how can something so miraculous, be so terrible and yet… I'm a terrible liar and they know it. However, this could be the only thing that could save Fitz, so I have to try. "I'll admit, that thought had crossed my mind, on many occasion, but…" half-truths girl, "I'm an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. first, doctor and scientist second; he is one of our own, and if he is injured, you we'll need me sir."

I can't tell if I managed to convince him or not, as his face remains neutral. "Trip is trained in field medicine Simmons," damnit Coulson, I need to go, can't you understand that! Calm yourself girl, just calm yourself, "And he will be of more use to you as a Specialist. Please sir," half-truths, "I don't, I can't lose anyone else I care about. Please sir, don't make me beg." Please let it be enough. (Coulson turns away, looking at Skye, who seems side with Simmons; then at Jaxx, who seems unsure, but nevertheless reluctant to see her in the field.)

"*sighs heavily* Both of you, grab your gear; we leave in 20." Thank god! Just hang on Fitz, you'll be back on your feet before you know it. "Thank you, sir." (Simmons looks over at Skye, who closes her laptop and the two of them rush out of the room, before the Director could change his mind. Jaxx meanwhile, walks up next to Coulson, wearing a look of concern and distrust.)

 **Coulson**

"What?" I can tell, even without looking at him, I can tell that he wants to say something. "Nothing, it's just..." (Jaxx shrugs, just as Coulson looks over at him,) "Don't be coy. Say what's on your mind." He just stands there, no emotion, no change in expression, nothing whatsoever; it's almost like he's some sort of, creepy statue or those creepy porcelain dolls. Man, I hate those dolls, it's like their eyes follow you wherever you go. "It's nothing. It can wait." I don't know why he's suddenly shutting me out, but I intend to find out. (Coulson turns fully, facing Jaxx who is still stares out, and beyond the door.) "If there's something bothering you, I have a right to know. You owe me that much at least."

(Jaxx clenches up his jaw, as he desperately wants Coulson to just move on from this line of inquiry. But he knows his friend all too well,) "It's just; I'm just a little concerned is all." (Coulson appeared more than a little surprised by Jaxx's answer. That is, until it finally struke him,) "Concern for the mission, or for Simmons?" (The corner of Jaxx's mouth curls a bit, which Coulson notices and takes as a sign.) Ahh, so that's what this has to be about. "You're concerned that she's not ready to be back in the field?" He sighs, then turns and faces me. (Jaxx crosses his arms over his chest.) "A little, but I'm mainly concerned that she's less concerned with getting Dr. Streiten back than his research."

 **Jaxx**

"I understand Jaxx, but don't worry; when it comes down to it, Simmons will make the right call." What's happened to you Coulson? I find it hard to believe that becoming Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. has made you this naïve. I love Simmons, she's my sister and she will always have my trust, but when it comes to matters of the heart; you can never be truly sure of anything. Well, I'll just let this go, for now at least. But I will keep a close eye on her, at least until it's over and my mission is complete. (Jaxx looks down for a moment, and then lets out a sigh.) "Yeah, you're right."

(Coulson pats Jaxx on the shoulder then walks out of the room; Jaxx stands there for a moment before leaving as well. As Jaxx makes his way down the halls of this secret base, he starts using his training to discreetly memorize where the cameras, access points, are located. He kept a mental note of how many personnel were on duty, where they were, and even where the armory was. Eventually he came to an office, and after he looked briefly, he opened the door and took a peek inside. He slowly went inside and took a moment to take in all the nostalgia, because to him; it had felt like he'd just traveled back in time to the late 1940's.)

"Wow." (He continued to look around, looking closely at the vinyl records, the books, the furniture, everything. Then he turned his attention to the Coulson's desk; he walked over to it and touched the top, slowly running his fingers along the smooth stained surface. He appreciated the fine craftsmanship, and the detail and great care that someone to in making this fine piece. He looked at all the old, post-war spy trinkets scattered atop the desk,) "*scoffs, then chuckles a bit* Oh Coulson, still just-" (he pauses as he notices something. Hidden beneath a table mat, it was some sort of carving, and not part of the original design.) "What is this?"

(He places his fingers on the mat, and slid it off to the right. His eyes widened, as confusion and perhaps shock settled in. He runs his fingers over the symbols that were clearly carved into the wood.) What in the hell…(He couldn't even begin to comprehend what this was or what it even meant. But he did know one thing about it,) this is fresh and was done recently; this couldn't be more than a couple hours old if that.

(Jaxx memorized the symbols, as millions of questions started to bombarding him. He slid the mat back over, covering these mysterious symbols back up. Jaxx shook his head as he turned around, and leaned against Coulson's desk. ) "*under his breath, to himself* What the hell is going on here Coulson?"

Trust…it's the ever-fading currency of this modern age. Jaxx had trusted others before, each to a varying degree, but there had only been one person with whom he had a near unwavering loyalty and trust towards, and that was Coulson. Now, Jaxx wouldn't follow just anyone so blindly into one fight after the next; he did so for Coulson because they both seemingly had the same ideals, the same convictions as the other. It was these same convictions that led Jaxx to becoming a marine. Conviction is a fickle-thing; it can drive you to do wondrous things, or it could lead you down the path to madness. But that trust he had felt towards Coulson had now changed; Jaxx knew it when he saw Coulson, for the first time since Fury brought him on for the Tesseract project, and he could feel that something was off.

Jaxx couldn't judge Coulson for keeping secrets from him, because in truth; he himself has been keeping it certain secrets from his friend. No, what bothered him was that whatever the secret is, it's clearly affecting him both physically and mentally. Not everyone could see it, or if they did they didn't want to, but Jaxx he had; this made it difficult for Jaxx to trust Coulson's true intent. He wondered if Coulson was even in his right frame of mind, or if the serum had started to warp his mind too, like it did to John Garrett. He would have to keep vigilant, and watch him carefully, but eventually there would be a confrontation. This whole situation just became a whole lot more complicated.

 **19 minutes later**

 **Elevator to Hanger Bay**

The three of them stood there in utter silence, as they took the elevator down to the hanger. Trip seemed the calmest out of the bunch, of course he was a Specialist; it was what he was trained for, but no amount of training could have prepared him for what was waiting for them. Skye, even though she has been part of the team since day one and even knowing the threat that Hydra posed if they recreated the serum; underneath it all, she was still as curious and excited for awaits her. Simmons was focused solely on one goal and one goal only; to find Dr. Streiten and use his research to help save Fitz, no matter the cost.

In her mind, this wasn't a scientific exploration or even a medical one, no; this was about saving the life of a fellow agent, a friend, of…someone who means the world to her. The elevator chimed, and seconds later the door opened; one by one, they all step out and head towards the ride that would take them to their final objective.

 **Triplett**

Now that's something new you don't see every day. I've never seen an aircraft like that before, and where the hell did Sword-guy get it? (The three of them, Skye, Simmons, and Trip himself, stand there staring at it with amazement in their eyes. Well, everyone except Skye who had already flew in it previously.*See Ch. 3 pt. 2 A Debt to be Paid) "It's pretty sweet ride, huh?" I look over at Skye, to see her smiling. (He looks back at the aircraft, the feel of curiosity setting in.) "Where the hell did you guys picks this thing up?"

I notice Simmons walking forward, setting down her backpack and other supplies and equipment. She takes a closer look, and then she starts touching it. After about a minute, I see her eyes widen and shock shoot across her face. "Are you okay girl?" I ask, and she just spins around wearing that same shocked expression. "Do you two, have any idea what this is?" no, but obviously from her tone, she does.

(Skye shrugs, knowing the answer as well.) "It's the Iron Wing VX-32. Designed and fabricated by Howard Stark." Wow…I'm almost speechless. It's not like Skye to know something like that. (He looks over at Simmons, who seemed impressed by Skye's knowledge.) "Exactly right, and did you know that it has-" (Skye interrupts her,) "Three duel-propulsion jet engines, can travel faster-than-sound and; has a highly dense metal alloy frame similar to those used on submarines during World War 2." Once again, I'm speechless. Where is she getting this information from?

(Simmons looks even more impressed than before.) "That's very good Skye, very good." Simmons smiles a little, and it's nice to see her smile again; it has been way too long. (He turns to Skye, looking a little bit more than curious,) "How did you know all that?" Skye looks at me and even before she opens her mouth, I can tell what comes next. "I have more than just coding up in here *points to her head* I also have mad knowledge skills. Uh huh, believe it." Riiight. I know you better than that girl, so do you honestly expect me to believe that? "Seriously, where did you learn that?"

"From Coulson," I turn to see Jaxx stepping off the plane, a little bit of grease smeared on his face and hands. "And me of course." I'd figure as much, plus it's more believable than, well, what Skye just said.

 **Skye**

(Skye looked over at Jaxx, irritated.) You couldn't help yourself could you? "Well, it's true." Says you looking all innocent and…greasy. He signals all of us to come aboard, and of course, I'm the first one on. Simmons follows me and Trip looks back at the plane before coming aboard. Everyone drops their gear, and not soon after that look of scientific curiosity shoots across her face. Trips seems to admire the craftsmanship of this lunk of bolts, while Simmons looks around at some of the wiring; even touching a few, "This is amazing, I mean, the time it took to rebuild this must have been *gasps in shock, as she looks down at an open panel,* is that what I think it is?"

She kneels down next to some open panel in the floor. Well, whatever she's looking at certainly has her undivided attention. She looks up briefly, with excitement plastered all over her face, "Agent Triplett, come take a look at this." (Trip finishes dropping off the gear, and then walks over to where Simmons is, and slowing starts to kneel.) "No way; is that what I think it is?" Well crap, now I'm curious, *sighs* it's probably some mechanical doo-hicky.

(She drops her bags and walks over to where the other two are,) Okay, I have no idea what I'm supposed to be looking at. Simmons looks up at me briefly, with that same look of excitement as before, "I can't believe it; I never thought I'd actually see one," all I can do is just give a half-assed smile and nod; seeing as how I still don't know what she's talking about. So, just go with it Skye, "Yea, I know right, I can't believe it either. *sarcastic raises her hands in victory* Yay."

(Simmons and Trip both turn around at look up at her,) Great, now I feel like the dorky kid at the back of the class who just got caught picking his nose, again. "You have no idea what we're talking about, do ya girl?" Gee, ya think Trip, "*scoffs nervously* Of course I know what you're talking about; you two are talking about…that…blue glowing umm…doo-hicky thing there. *points to a large cylinder with glowing blue lights and wires coming off it*." The two of them share a look, and then they look back at me, again. "Skye, you don't even know what that is, do you?" Oh Simmons, "*Scoffs* Uh yea, it's the umm…undertake…manifold *appears nervous and starts lowering her voice* flux capacitor thing?"

Simmons shakes her head, and Trip just looks on and shows a smile, "Not even close girl." I kinda figured that Trip from the look the two of you was giving me. "It's a plane Skye, not a DeLorean." (Everyone turns and looks behind them, to see Jaxx coming out of the cockpit. He then walks over to where they are and kneels down across from Skye.) "And that is high-powered twin charged super-capacitor." "HA! I was right, eat that sucka's." (Everyone looks at her once again, this time with a look of narcissism.)

"Well I was." Sort of, I mean I at least got the capacitor part right, so that should count for something? Jaxx shakes his head and looks back at the super twin-charged whatcha-call-it, "Yea well, this capacitor allows us to travel at Mach 2 while still being able to maintain aerial maneuverability. It does not; allow us to travel back in time." Maybe not, but that would be so freakin sweet, "But that would be really freakin sweet though," did he just, he literally just said what I did, or thought.

Simmons stands up, and looks just excited and shocked at the same time. "Where does Director Coulson find these vintage pieces?" Yea, except it wasn't Coulson who found this, "Actually, it's-" (Coulson interrupts) "Its Jaxx's agent Simmons," How the hell do they keep doing that, every freakin time. (Coulson walks up the ramp, carrying only a single duffle bag and wearing his usual attire including,) Wow, it's been a while since I've seen him wear those shades.

He whips off those shades and stuffs them inside his jacket pocket, meanwhile (Simmons turns to Jaxx, looking astounded,) Jaxx just stands there looking smug, grinning from ear to ear. Coulson stuffs his gear with the others, after which he asks "Everyone all set?"

 **Simmons**

To be honest, I've never been more eager to do something so reckless since I joined Coulson's team. Director Coulson turns to Skye first, no doubt wanting a status report on that thumb drive they found, "Skye how's everything on your end?" she stands there, with her laptop closed in front of her, not at all looking like the little outcast we picked up in New York so long ago. "I have my decryption algorithm going through every file on the drive and backing it up too our local network. It should be fully decrypted by the time we get back."

Skye, she's always been a clever girl. "I've also hacked into a couple of satellites that are in orbit; one will be over the coordinates in 15 minutes. By that time I should have geo-thermal imaging up and running." That's very impressive, very. Coulson nods, and despite not showing it, I'm sure he's very appreciative, and now the Director turns to Trip, as it is his turn. "Trip, what do you have for us?"

I couldn't be more glad to have Trip coming with us; besides the fact that he's good company, I know for a fact that he can handle most anything that Hydra could possibly throw our way…I hope. "A little bit of everything sir. (Grabs one of the bags, unzips it and shows what's inside,) I've got a dozen or so I.C.E.R's, but just in case; I've brought along with a few Smith & Wesson M&P's, a couple M1A1's."

(Triplett zips the bag back up and stows it with the other gear, before returning.) Coulson looks pleased, but then again it's hard to tell what he's actually thinking. "And the other thing?" (Simmons and Skye appear confused, but Trip and Jaxx on the other hand,) "I've got enough semtex to take out a small building sir." Damn, I should've known that, it was the Director's plan from the start; well, that just means that I've got to fleet-of-foot in finding what I'm looking for.

(Coulson nods,) "Good, let's hope it's enough. Simmons," oh bugger. Okay girl, just focus on the task at hand, and whatever you do, don't try to lie; although if I'm being honest I think that I'm getting better at it. "How are our medical supplies?" Honestly, they could be better, but I'm sure he wants the good news, not the bad. "All stocked up on bandages, morphine and the like. But honestly sir; since we don't know exactly what we're walking into, I'm not sure if it's enough."

Damnit girl, I should've stopped before saying that, but then again if I did then would think that I was holding something back which would've led him to asking questions which-"Well, hopefully we won't have to worry about that." Thank god for Jaxx, it almost as if he could my thoughts starting to scramble my mind. This is going to be tougher than I could've imagined, but then again; this day couldn't get any worse, right?

 **Jaxx**

It's been a long while, but it looks like some things never change. Of course, some things have; "Jaxx, is she ready to fly?" You bet your Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. ass it is. "She's fueled up, and ready. Just say the word." I see him give a hint of a smile, "Everyone, secure your gear. It's time for a road trip." I thought you'd never as-"Hold it!" (Everyone stops, Coulson turns around and sees none other than agent Melinda May standing at the base of the ramp and standing beside her, agent Alphonso Mackenzie. Everyone on the plane is looking on, some shocked and a few more than terrified at the combination of annoyance and aggravation plastered on Agent May's face. Jaxx was neither.)

(Simultaneously Coulson, Simmons, Triplett, Skye, and Jaxx mutter under their breaths,) "Aww crap." (Coulson walks down the ramp, coming face to face with his irritated number 1, while the others just stood there, watching and waiting.) Damnit Coul, we don't have time for this. (He lets out a sigh, which just so happens to catch the attention of both Simmons and Skye, prompting the former hacktivist to ask,) "What's up with you Mr. tall-pale-and-grumpy?"

(He looks over at her, looking a little less irritated than agent May, and answers) "I'm not grumpy," (Simmons replies) "Actually you do seem to be a bit grumpy. Have you eaten anything today?" Great, just great, now Simmons is trying to play mother hen. "I'm not grumpy, and I haven't had the time to eat Sims," "*scoffs* Well see, that's why your so grumpy, you haven't eaten anything all day, ohh you poor thing." Just make it stop, please make it stop. "I'm fine it's just that-" it's just that I'm trying to listen in on Coulson and May's conversation, but the two of you are not letting me focus.

(A few seconds later, Coulson comes walking back up the ramp, an even sterner look than before plastered on his face. One which everyone seemed to notice,) "Let's get this show on the road." There's something off, he seems almost out of it. "Everything good here AC?" I don't know why you even bother to ask Skye, I mean; it's not like he's going to tell her the truth or anything. It's not his style, as he says. "We're good," Coulson, we are far from good my friend; we are galaxies far far away, from good.

Regardless, we need to move, like 20 minutes ago. (Jaxx says) "Alright everyone, stow your gear and strap in, we're off in 2."

Jaxx nods to everyone before shuffling off to the cockpit to get strapped in. He flipped a few switches and checked the gauges, making sure all systems were functioning proper; meanwhile everyone checked and secured they're gear for the long trip ahead. After that, Skye and Coulson secure themselves a pair of seats next to each other, while Triplett and Simmons sat adjacent. Once everyone fastened themselves, Jaxx flipped a couple of switches, closing the ramp. Coulson turned and looked to his left; the last thing he saw as the ramp slowly closed, was a distinct look of concern in agent May's eyes. The last time he saw that look was seconds before they lost contact with their operations team during the Bahrain incident. That looks stuck with him even after all this time, and it would be the last thing he would see of her as the ramp sealed shut.

Jaxx flipped a couple more switches, the lights turning from red to green, before asking the control officer for clearance to launch. Seconds quickly passed by, and with each second that passed, Jaxx grew more anxious. Agent May was now acting director, and her first instinct was to halt the takeoff, due in no small part to the fact that her team was going into enemy waters, and unknown territory, blind. But she also knew how much this mission means to both Coulson and Skye, as well as how dangerous it would be to have that serum out there in the world. She knew Coulson had been acting strange these last few weeks, but right now she had two choices, delay the mission until further Intel was gathered and risk the dangers of such a drug being introduced into hydra, or…

She placed her fingers on her left ear, and with contempt in her voice she said to the operator, "They are a go operator." The operator gave Jaxx the go ahead and he proceeded to initiate takeoff protocol. The bay doors above opened, and he activated the vertical takeoff thrusters. Once he was out of the compound and the rays from the sun hit his face, he started to have a disturbing yet, familiar feeling, one that he hadn't felt in a long time. The first time he felt it, was over 6 years ago, right before a terrible event occurred. He would never tell anyone the truth about what he really felt, not Coulson and definitely not Simmons, but it was that day that defined who he wanted to be. Today however, he felt only the most basic of emotions and one he had hoped never to feel again…he was afraid.

 **1 hour 15 minutes, Flying over Pacific Ocean**

It had been well over an hour since they had left _the Playground_ and despite his best efforts, he just couldn't shake this feeling of uncertainty and doubt. He had tried to focus on the mission at hand, but doing so only seemed to make things even worse, so he tried other approaches. He constantly checked the gauges, hoping that doing so would take his mind off of these things. Unfortunately after the first few times, he noticed that he had caught the questioning gaze of a certain S.H.I.E.L.D. Director; who probably wondered if there was some sort of malfunction in the gauges, why else would Jaxx be constantly checking them.

He quickly stopped that so as to avoid any unfounded concerns from his passengers, but soon enough that feeling crept back into his mind. It seemed as though everything he had tried only seemed to make it worse. Even the occasional daydream fantasy involving a certain cute little hacktivist named Skye, and a very nice hotel room, seemed to fade away as fear and uncertainty somehow managed to creep its way back in. The only thing that seemed to keep him together was flying his most coveted possession, Iron Wing. Sometimes, he would close his eyes and dream that he could fly without the Iron Wing, and that he would soar through the skies; the feel of the cool wind pushing against his face and seeing the clouds zoom past.

He eventually stopped and shot straight up into the air hovering just above the clouds; in the dream, he would close his eyes and feel the sun's warming rays against his face, and at last he would feel at peace. Until suddenly something stirred him from his dream; it felt as though someone or something was touching his shoulder, calling out to him _Jaxx, Jaxx are you okay?_ Jaxx opens his eyes, awakening from a dream that he had no idea that he was having. He turned to his right and saw Coulson's hand on his shoulder, and when he looked up he saw a slight concern in his friend's eyes, concern for him perhaps…

 **Coulson**

"Everything good up here?" (Jaxx looked bewildered, as if he just realized where he is. His eyes flutter a bit, trying to not look out of it, before replying.) "Yea, yea everything is good Coul. Nothing but clear skies." I don't think that I've ever seen him like this. He seems off, like his mind is someplace else, and I can relate. But I'm barely keeping myself together here, that's why I need him to stay focused, just in case, I can't.

"Good, good. What's our ETA?" he looks down at the GPS scanner, "About 30 minutes…15 if I max out the thrusters and go to Mach 2. But if I push it too much, we might drain the fuel cells or the engines might give out. Whatever the case it's your call." It's a miracle that we've made it this far in this plane, a plane that, up until a few hours ago, wasn't supposed to exist. We shouldn't push this thing too much, but if we don't get there quick enough, Dr. Streiten is as good as dead. Man, its times like these that I miss the Bus, but we work with what we've got, so, yeah.

I look at Jaxx and nod, "Do it." he gives a nod, "Roger that, going Mach 2 in three, two, one…" (Jaxx flips a couple of switches, causing the ship to fly faster and faster until a booming sound from the outside of the plane echoes inside.) That's it? I expected, I don't know, something other than my ears popping. "What the hell was that?" (Skye asks. Coulson turns around and sees the looking curiously around, wondering what that sound was. Coulson walks forward,) "Mach 2." From their expressions, I can't pick who looks more shocked out of the three.

Regardless, we need to go over all of our data, and decide how to move forward. (Coulson turns around,) "Jaxx, when your free," (Jaxx nods, and flips the auto-pilot switch, then unbuckles himself and shuffles out of the cockpit. Afterwards, Jaxx and Coulson walk over to Skye, Simmons, and Trip who are looking over the Intel and data that has been collected so far.) "Okay people, we're about 15 minutes out from the target's location… *looks over at Jaxx, who shrugs and tilts his hand back and forth. Looks back at the others* …give or take."

"So, that gives us time to go over the data and come up with a plan. So, who wants to go first?"

 **Skye**

Please, please don't pick me first. (Coulson says) "Skye," Crap, crappity crap-crap. "Did you find anything from the satellite images?" (Skye looks down at her tablet) "Trees AC, miles and miles of trees. There were only a few satellites in the region and none showed anything out of the ordinary." I expected a look of disappointment from AC, instead he just stands there, "Why do I feel that there's a but?" Oh AC, you know me so well, "But, after coming up with notta on the satellite front I took another look at the USB drive you guys found. (Skye taps on her tablet then turns it around, showing it to Coulson and the others,) And I found something."

(Coulson folds his arms across his chest, and leans in for a closer look,) "What am I looking at?" well AC, "It's thermal imaging of the area, and you see this area here, *she enlarges a specific area on the tablet*" Coulson leans back, "What about it Skye?" C'mon Simmons, you're the scientist here, and you can't see-"It's cold…" (Skye smiles and exclaims) "Exactly.!" (Trip and Simmons have yet to catch up to the answer, one which sits right in front of their faces,) "I don't get it?" Seriously Trip, (Jaxx steps forward, and tries to explain exactly what Skye is trying to say,) "What she's saying, is that there's no reason why there should be a cold spot there, (points to the tablet screen) dead-center in the jungle. That place should be lighting up like a Christmas tree."

Finally, someone other than AC knows what I'm saying, "Exactly, but this area here *taps on the screen* has no heat signature I mean like, none what-so-ever." Everyone looks a little less confused, especially Trip, "Is that even possible?" good question Trip, and honestly I have no freakin clue…(Coulson states) "It's possible. Before Hydra's attack, S.H.I.E.L.D. had scientists and engineers working on ways to hide our bases from various forms of thermal imaging." (Jaxx takes a step forward and replies) "Looks like Hydra took one from your playbook." I hand Coulson the tablet, and he takes a closer look at it.

"Were you able to get anything else Skye?" I wish AC, "Unfortunately no, other than the coordinates and these images there's nothing. Sorry AC," he looks up from the tablet and I know exactly what he's going to say before he even says it, "Don't apologize, you did great. And now we know exactly where to look." He hands me back the tablet and gives me a smile, one that I don't think I deserve, but I do appreciate.

(A loud alarm starts going off, which causes everyone to freeze, and their muscles to tighten. Jaxx turns and rushes back to the cockpit, looking frantically at the gauges. Coulson turns to him, a look of concern plastered across his face,) "Jaxx, what is it!?" Well, if that alarm blaring is any indication AC, I'm guessing it's anything but good news. (Jaxx starts flipping switches and manages to shut off the alarm, after which he rushes back to the others, shuffling Coulson aside. He kneels down and removes a panel; immediately sparks start shooting up and out, but once it stops he leans in, past the smoke puffing out, for a closer look.)

"Damn, we got a problem." Not exactly what any of us wanted to hear Jaxx; I see his back tighten, which means that it's really, really bad. AC kneels down next to him, "How bad is it?" Jaxx sits up, and gives AC a concerned, measuring look, "One of the main fuel conductors has ruptured, which leaked out coolant onto the main turbo capacitor, causing it to rupture. Needless to say, it's not good." AC stares back at him, "Define not good?"

(Jaxx imitates the plane blowing to pieces using his hands and making explosion noises.) I really don't like his version of charades, I really don't. (Coulson responds) "Thanks for the visual. Can you fix it?" Jaxx shakes his head, "Maybe, but not while we're in the air." (Suddenly, a buzzing alarm started coming from the cockpit, Coulson lets out a heavy sigh the asks) "For crying out loud, can't we get a break?"

Trip rushes to the cockpit and it only takes him a second to find yet another problem. He turns around looking calm and cool. Maybe it's not so bad, (Trip says) "Sir it's bad," of course it's bad, stupid piece of vintage junk. (Trip comes out of the cockpit, and explains further) "We're losing altitude, fast." Everyone could hear AC sigh, "What's the time frame?" (Coulson asks) Trip shakes his head, "3 maybe 4 minutes til we splash down." (Coulson crosses his arms, going through their options. He looks down at Jaxx and asks) "How far away are we from the coordinates?" Jaxx stands up, and once again gives him measured look, "8 minutes." Not good, very not good. I really miss the bus. (Coulson continues thinking, trying to find any scenario where they make it.)

"*under his breath* There has to be someway…" despite his best efforts, I can still hear ya AC. Don't worry, we'll figure a way out of this, we always do, right? (With the minutes flying by, and a crash or explosion nearly imminent, everyone started to fret, everyone except Jaxx, who may have come up with a plan to save the day.) "I may have something, but it's a long shot." At this point Jaxx, we're not very choosey. (Coulson un-crosses his arms and asks) "Whatever it is, do it."

Jaxx nods and turns to Trip, "I need you in the cockpit, ready to fly." Trip doesn't say a word, and doesn't hesitant, even for a second and rushes back into the cockpit. Jaxx turns to me and I can feel my muscles tense up, "Skye I need you up front with Trip, and get ready to flip the switch to transfer the main power to the backups and switch over the fuel reserves, got it?" Some yeah, "Flip switches, backups, fuel, got it!" I brush past him and shimmy into the co-pilots seat. I look over at Trip who snaps his head a little, "Buckle up."

Yea right, it's not like I don't wanna be tied down to a seat if we crash into the water or anything. I fidget around with the buckles, until I finally manage to snap them together. Trip starts to run me through which switches I need to flip and in what order. Thank god he knows what's going on because I sure as hell don't. I look back to see Jaxx tearing up some cables from the floor panels, I can't tell exactly what he's doing; it's almost like he's Frankenstein-ing various wires together. Coulson helps as best he can, but he's no engineer; Simmons seems to understand what Jaxx is attempting to do which means hopefully whatever his plan is will actually work. God…I really miss the bus.


	9. Ep1 Ch4 Crucible pt1

_**Disclaimer:**_ **First and foremost I would like to thank everyone who follows, and have both favorite me as an author and the story itself. I am honored and grateful to continue writing and hope that all of you like what is to come. Secondly, I wanted to give you a heads up that I might not be posting for a little bit, but I will post. As always I do not own, nor claim to own any or a Marvel characters that appear in this story; I only own my unique imagination and of course Jaxx. Thanks again and leave comments or reviews if you like or have any questions about the story or characters themselves. THX**

 **5 minutes later**

 **Location: Unknown**

 **Skye**

(Her eyes slowly flutter open; her vision is blurry, making it difficult to make out anything in front of her. Slowly, she sits up, groaning and grunting as she grabs her head.) What the hell…(If she didn't know any better, she would think that she had been in a head on collision; at least that's what the pounding in her head told her. After stretching a bit, she looks up and finds that she's not on the plane. She grips the frame of the bed and uses it to push herself to her feet.)

(Her muscles screech out, as the dull, numbing pain shoots through her entire body. The pain almost caused her to tumble back down onto the bed, and yet, she regained her balance just in time. She looked around a bit, first looking at the bed she was laying on, then at the three walls surrounding her. This place felt familiar, but she couldn't quite place it; she turned around and saw a concrete staircase leading up to a door. A possible way out perhaps, either way she couldn't stay here, wherever here is.)

(She starts to take a couple of steps forward, meanwhile she the familiarity of the room started to gnawing at her. After her 4th step she hits something, something that stops her cold. Her heartbeat started going faster; she held out her hand and found that there was an barrier blocking her escape.) "Oh no!" please no, nonononono, this isn't real! (It was like she had been thunderstruck, as she finally realized exactly where she is. She was back at the _Playground_ , but instead of waking up in her bed, she found herself locked inside of Grant Ward's cell.) "This can't be happening!"

"Oh but it is Skye…" (When the voice came from the shadows, it seemingly froze her in place; she was barely able to stand up as fear suddenly took over. She knew that voice, knew it all too well, and she was afraid. The lights on the other side of the cell slowly brightened, and there he was, standing there before her; her former CO, and traitor, Grant Ward. He stood there, smiling at her, but she was not focused on his, sinister, mistrusting smile.)

(She instead focused on the 5 people sitting on their knee's behind him. Their heads were covered by cloth bags, but the bags themselves, had splatters of blood all over them. Ward noticed this, and he started to walk around behind them. He stood at the far left and removed the bag, revealing to Skye an bloodied and beaten Agent May.) "Oh my god, May!" Jesus, what did he do to her-wait, if she's here then…(He continued on down, revealing the next to be Simmons, who had beads of sweat dripping from her forehead, and the look of terror in her eyes.)

"Simmons!" I've got to find a way out of here, I need to-(He moves down and removes the bag. Coulson sits there on his knees, barely conscious, blood dripping down the side of his face; Skye's eyes start to well up, and her heart pounds even faster than before,) "*whimpers* Coulson…" how is this possible, how the hell did he get out! (Ward removed the next bag, showing Trip, who struggled against his restraints, only to have the butt of Ward's handgun meet the back of his neck.)

(Trip falls forward, his head hitting violently against the floor,) "Trip!" Ward you sonuvabitch, I'm going to kill you! (He took his time walking over to the last one, even toyed with removing the bag, making Skye angrier.) Damnit no, not Jaxx, no way would he go down that easily. (Ward removes the bag, and when she saw his face, she could hold back the tears no longer. She placed her hands against the barrier, causing it to shimmer across.) "*whimpering*Fitz…" how is he, when did he wake up?

How long have I been trapped-(Ward interrupts her train of thought) "You remember, when you said I was a monster Skye?" Ward, don't…don't do whatever your about to do, please, "Ward listen to me-" (Ward holds up his gun, causing her to pause, giving him time to speak) "You were right, I am a monster." Why's he smiling, what's he-(Fitz whimpers) "Skye, please help me, plea-"*BANG* (She couldn't register what had just happened, not at first; only when she saw the light in Fitz's eyes dim, and blood rushing down the center of his face did she finally realize what had happened.)

(The world seemed to slow down as she watched Fitz fall forward; she could swear that she heard someone screaming, but it was muffled, like someone was trying to shout through a pillow. Skye tried to scream, tried to shout but found her voice missing, instead she found herself out of breath and barely able to stand. She sees Ward move behind Coulson, still smiling that devilish smile as he aimed the gun at Trip's head.) *BANG* Trip, Fitz! Stop Ward, please just stop. (She tries to speak once more, but again finds that she is without a voice; frustrated she pounds on the barrier keeping her from saving her friends.)

(As the barrier shimmers, Ward aims his gun at Simmons, but then stops suddenly.) NO STOP! WHERE'S MY VOICE, WHY CAN'T I TALK!? (Ward kneels down behind Simmons, and brushes a strand of her hair behind her ear,) "Shhhh, Shhhh, don't worry, it's ok." (Ward pets her hair, as if he was petting a puppy or cat, like he was reassuring her that everything was going to be fine, but Skye knew better.)

"Simmons!" finally I can speak again, but she's too afraid to look at me. "Simmons, look at me!" shouting caught her attention, and when I look into her eyes I could see the horror and fear in her eyes. I won't let Ward take someone else I care about away from me, I won't! There has to be a way out of here, but until I do I need to reassure her, "Simmons, everything's going to be fine, you're going to be fine just…just keep looking at me okay?" (Simmons nods, even though they both know that there's nothing that can be done, for they are at the mercy of the psychopathic Grant Ward.)

(He looks up at Skye, and his smile slowly fades,) "Skye, don't make promises you can't keep." No Ward please no *BANG BANG* (Unlike the others, Ward shot her in her right lung. After which he held unto her, slowly lowering her to the ground, all the while shushing her as she whimpered out in pain.) "Shhhh, Simmons, that's it. It'll be over soon, I promise." (Skye pounds furiously against the barrier, shouting,) "SIMMONS NO! *pounding and kicking against the barrier* You sonuvabitch, I'll kill you Ward."

(Tears flow down her face, more so now as she watches as her friend tries to gasp for air. With each gasp she comes closer to the end, until finally she gasps one last time. Her head falls to the side, and that was that. Skye couldn't stand anymore, so she falls to her knees and starts to cry.) Please god, no more; don't let him take anyone else, please, somebody help me!

"WARD! I'm going to kill you, you son of-" *BANG* (Agent May's threat was silenced by Ward. And she too fell forward, her head slamming against the cold concrete.) MAY! (Skye had not forgotten what May did to Ward, as revenge for how he used her to get what he wanted. And as he stood over her, his head tilted to the left, he apparently didn't forget either, *BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG* After the last shot, he gazes up at Skye, giving her a humorless terrifying stare.) "*shrugs, says smugly* Can't be too careful, isn't that right Skye?"

FUCK YOU! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU, FUCKING KILL YOU! (Ward turned, and to his time walking over to Coulson. Once there, he knelt down next to his former superior, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said,) "It has been, an honor serving alongside you and S.H.I.E.L.D. sir." (Coulson, beaten and bloodied looks at him,) "Go to hell," (Coulson spites blood into Wards' face, causing him to coil back a bit. It was Coulson's last stand, his final defiance as he knew his end was near. Ward stood up, and using a rag from his back pocket, he wiped the blood and spit from his face, before tossing it away.)

(He pulled back the slide, checking to see if there was a bullet in the chamber, then he pointed the gun, point blank at Coulson's skull. Coulson could feel the barrel against his skin, it was still warm from before. Skye pounded on the barrier, crying out, trying to find her voice once more, and try to appeal to the only thing that Ward still craves in this world.) "I'll do anything, do you hear me, anything just please, don't kill him!" (Ward froze in place, his eyes glancing up at hers; moments later he slowly lowers the gun.)

Thank god, thank you. Just hold on Coulson, oh god, (She looked at her fallen friends; mainly she stared at their faces.) I'm so sorry; (Skye's eyes locked onto Fitz's lifeless, colorless face.) Fitz, oh god Fitz. (It would only get worse from there. Though she couldn't see his face, she could still feel the pain of losing Trip; Trip who has been the rock and heart of S.H.I.E.L.D. ever since Hydra resurfaced.)

(Her eyes swiftly move over to May's body, but her face was covered with her blood-soaked hair. Her back riddled with holes, as part of Ward's own sadistic revenge. Then, her glance drifted over to Jemma, her lifeless, cold body, lying there in front of her.) Jemma, damnit no. You didn't deserve this, none of you did. (Her tears flowed more frequently, like a stream overflowing during a rainstorm. She tried to hold them back before but now, what was the point.)

I couldn't save them, but I can save Coulson, I have to. (She looks up at Coulson, the man who has been like a father to her ever since they met. Seeing him so beaten, so bloodied, it was almost too much for her to take,) I can't lose you Coulson, if I do, I would nothing left, except anger and hate, I'd would become- "You would become a monster," (Ward says,) "Just like me." (He shows her that creepy, devilish smile of his,) Wait how'd he-(Suddenly, it hit her. And once more, an all-powerful fear grip her,)

This is what he wanted, he wants me to become—Oh god no, "COULSON!" (It was already too late, she knew it, Coulson knew. The world once again seemed to slow to a crawl, as Ward lifted the gun back up to Coulson's head, *BANG*. Skye pounded on the barrier,) *screaming* NOOOOOOOOO!" (Her mind went blank, as she once again tumbled to her knees, still pounding at the barrier in front of her. She closed her eyes begging God to let this all be a dream, that she'd give whatever she had to make this so.)

(She sat there for a moment, waiting for Ward to do whatever he was going to do. She wouldn't fight back, why would she; she had nothing left to fight for. Someone's hand found its way onto her shoulder, but she refused to look at him, not now, not until-) "Skye, wake up," Coulson? "Skye wake up."

 **Location: Solomon Islands 5 minutes later**

 **Onboard the Iron Wing – After a "Rough" landing**

 **Skye**

"SKYE!" (Her eyes snap opened,) *cough, cough* what the hell, *grunts out in pain*. "*mumbles* Son of a," (She looks over to her left, and appeared both stunned that Coulson was leaning over her, holding her by the shoulders.) "*mumbles* Coulson, your-" (Coulson interjects) "Yeah, we're all a little banged up, but we made it in one piece; sort of." It was a dream, just a really, really messed up dream. "Thank god."

(Coulson nodded,) "You might want to thank Trip, though, I'm sure god helped out. Here, let's get you out of this." (Coulson helped Skye unbuckle herself; afterwards he held onto her arms and helped her out of the cockpit. Skye's body felt sore, but her head got the worst of it; a small cut above her left brow, it was hardly bleeding. Coulson leaned her against the hull, and took a better look at her wound.)

"How bad is it AC?" please tell me it's not going to need stitches, I hate stitches. "Well, you'll need stitches," "Seriously," (She gives her Director an exasperated look, but he just simply grins back,) "I'm kidding Skye, it's not that bad." Ha ha, very funny AC, very funny. "Not funny AC," he just shrugs, "It's a little funny." *sighs* (She pushes herself off the hull, and stands next to Coulson, and looks around,)

"How'd everyone else make out?" I just now notice that the ramp is down, and that the only ones here are me and AC. I hope everyone's ok. "Trip made it out without a scratch, he was the lucky one. Simmons and I both got a little rattled, nothing serious." Good, that's good-wait, what about Jaxx? "And Jaxx? Is he-" (Skye tries not to panic, but it's already starting to set in. Coulson could see the look on her face, so he interjects,) "He's alive, but he got the worst of it." Oh god, "How bad?"

(Coulson starts taking off his suit jacket,) "His palms have 2nd degree electrical burns, and Simmons says that he has a mild concussion." Jeez, that's…(She was happy that Jaxx was alive and well, albeit a bit battered, but he is alive nonetheless. Seconds later Simmons rushes up the ramp, and over to Skye, giving her a constricting hug.) "It's good to see you too Simmons." But could you let up just a bit, I still need to breathe after all.

"I'm so glad to see you up and about," (Simmons releases Skye, but still keeps both hands on her shoulders. She then notices the cut above Skye's brow,) "Oh dear," (Skye shrugs it off) "It's nothing Simmons, really, I'm fine." Hopefully she doesn't make a big deal of it, (Simmons pats Skye on her shoulders then, like a good doctor,) "Well, big deal or not I still need to take a look at you. Make sure you don't have any serious brain trauma." (Once more Skye tries to shrug it off as nothing.) "Okay seriously I'm fine," (Coulson interjects) "Skye, everyone else has gotten checked out by Simmons, now it's your turn. Plus it's-"

"Protocol, yea, yea I know." He's been using the whole "It's protocol" thing a whole lot lately; especially when it comes to whatever he's keeping secret from me, from the team. But now's not the time, later. Besides, my neck is kinda killing me. (Skye walks over to an empty seat, while Simmons grabs her medical bag. She examines Skye's cut closely, determining soon after that it was nothing more than a shallow cut, nothing life threatening.)

"Well, lucky for you it's not that deep." Simmons reaches into her bag, I'm hoping it's not a needle and thread. The last thing I need is for her to go all Rambo on my head. (Simmons pulls out a small band aid) Whew. (Simmons tears off the wrapping around the band aid, and begins applying it to Skye's cut, gently.) "You're lucky, it could've been much deeper considering our current circumstance." Yeah thanks Jemma, not really making me feel any better.

And speaking of current circumstances, "Speaking of crap situations, what exactly happened?" (Coulson walks over beside Skye, just as Simmons finishes applying the band aid. He replies,) "What do you remember?" Not much, unless you count the worst nightmare that I've ever had, which you probably don't. "I remember that we were going down and that Jaxx had some sort of plan."

(Simmons reaches into her medical bag once more and pulls out a pen light, and after clicking it on she shines it into Skye's left eye, then her right. Afterwards she holds the pen in front of her, and says to Skye,) "Follow the light please." Does the light have to be that damn bright, geez. (Skye continues,) "I also remember flipping some switches, but after…it's all a blur." (Coulson replies)

 **Coulson**

She must've hit her head harder than I thought, of course; I was a little fuzzy on the details myself, so who can blame her. "After you flipped the last switch, everything seemed to be fine." (Simmons interjects) "Well, that is until a few seconds later when one of the power conduits overloaded, which sent an electrical surge through the main systems, causing them to shut down." (Skye looks at Simmons with a concerned look, then says) "Not my fault." (Simmons, still kneeling, placed the pen light back into the medical bag and stated redundantly,) "Of course it wasn't your fault."

Skye barely touches the cut on her eyebrow and cringes. Now she looks up at me, probably waiting for me to tell her what happened next. And I won't disappoint. (Coulson says) "The surge also knocked out our thrusters, as well as our vertical takeoff and landing abilities. After that, it didn't take us long to go into a nose dive." (Skye appears more even more concerned and curious than previously) Maybe I should've left that last part out, (Skye asks with a curious tone) "How the hell are we still alive?"

Yep, definitely should've left that last part out. Well, too late now. (Simmons zips up her bag, then replies to Skye's question) "Jaxx and I re-wired a few of the secondary systems to some of the primary systems which allowed us to power up the main thrusters." (Simmons shoves the bag to the side of Skye's seat.) "Trip managed to get us to the island, before the main systems gave out." (Coulson states, meanwhile Skye reaches up to her brow once more, contemplating how exactly she got the cut. With Simmons aiding her, she stands up and looks at Coulson once more and asks)

"Okay quick question; if we survived a near-death crash and made it to the island, then why do I have this cut?" (Coulson replies) "The thrusters started to give out just as we entered the island, then after a few meters inland, all systems shut down at once. Needless to say it wasn't exactly a smooth landing." And that's it, that's all the Intel we have at this point, hopefully Jaxx and Trip can figure out what happened and get this ship up and running, just in case we need to make a quick exit. But first, (He looks at Simmons, who looks back at him, and he asks) "How's she doing Simmons?"

(Simmons replies) "Besides the minor laceration, she could have a minor case of whiplash. Other than that, she's in perfect health sir." Glad to hear it, I can't afford to lose anyone else, not today. (Trip walks up the ramp, with a slightly bruised Jaxx following suit.) From the looks on their faces, I'm guessing it's not good news. (Coulson asks Trip and Jaxx) "How bad?" (Trip replies) "Bad sir." I called it, why did I call it? (Coulson asks) "Can we fix it?" (Trip shrugs and replies) "There's nothing we can do."

(Jaxx intercedes) "Physically there's nothing wrong with'em, all circuits and wires are intact; there's just no juice flowing." That's unusual, (Coulson replies) "How did that happen?" Trip and Jaxx look at each other, briefly, and then they look at me and…shrug. Great, Jaxx is supposed to know this plane inside. (Trip speaks) "And we got even more bad news, sir." *sighs* Come on, (Coulson replies) "Why am I not surprised.?" (Jaxx explains) "It's not just the thrusters; all systems seem to be affected by…whatever keeping the thrusters shut down."

(Coulson asks) "Any ideas as to what could cause a system-wide shut down?" Hopefully one of us can figure out the cause and how to fix it, otherwise… (Skye's suggests) "Maybe we were hit with a EMP; could explain why none of the systems are working." Good guess, but I don't think that's the case. (Simmons responds) "An EMP would cause all electronics to fail, but it would have overloaded the circuits themselves, burning them out essentially."

(Trip says) "None of the circuits we saw were fried, so that rules out that." Well, until we figure this out, we're not going anywhere. (Everyone ponders for a moment, going through the possibilities. Then, Jaxx looks at Trip, then counter-clockwise all the way to Coulson, then back at Skye, asking her,) "Skye," (She looks up at him, and Jaxx continues) "Can you pull up the thermal image of the island?"

Why would you…Ahh I think I know where you're going with this. (Skye shrugs, turns, and reaches for her pack. She unzips it and reaches in, pulling out her tablet. She presses the power button, but nothing happens; she presses the power button once more and still, nothing. She looks up, her eyes shooting from person to person until they lock onto Jaxx, then she replies,)

"*confused tone* My tablet isn't working, I-" (Jaxx and Coulson give each other a look, acknowledging that they both knew what was going on.) I should've known, I mean it was right there in front of our faces the entire time. (Jaxx says) "Check your laptop." (Skye lays down the tablet and reaches into the bag once again and retrieves her laptop. She opens it up, presses the power button and once more nothing happens. She looks up at Coulson, and replies,) "Nothing."

(Coulson and Jaxx share a look, and simultaneously say) " **Electro-Refraction Stasis Field**." Why did it have to be Stasis fields; I hate those things. But at least now we know the cause, and-(Coulson stops, and looks at Trip, Skye, and Simmons only to see each one just as confused as the next. Skye raises her hand, like child in a classroom. Coulson nods and says,) "Skye," she wants to know what an Electro-Refraction Stasis Field is. (Skye lowers her arm and asks,) "What is an Electro-Refractor Stasis-thingy?" called it.

(Simmons turned to her and replied,) "Essentially it's a generator that is capable of rendering an entire area invisible to satellite imaging and in some cases camouflage certain individuals." (Skye's eyes widen in amazement, and say,) "That sounds cool." It would be, except for the small problem of our current situation, but other than that; yea, it is pretty cool. (Coulson walks over to the corner where the bags were being stored, he grabs the heaviest and brings it over to the team. He sets it down on the seat that Skye vacated, and unzips it.)

(Coulson replies) "Unfortunately the device in question has a nasty little side-effect. (He pulls out a Smith & Wesson, he pulls the slide back, checking inside the chamber,) It shuts down all electronics with 200 foot radius, of course those were the hand held ones, (He uncocks the hammer, and tucks it in the holster. After securing his weapon he reaches in the bag once more, and pulls out another handgun,) This one is obviously a lot bigger." (This time handing it off to Trip, who quickly takes it without question and performs the same inspection.)

(He continues doing this, pulling out another pistol and handing it off to Jaxx, who asks,) "How much bigger we're talking here?" No idea, but there's someone here who might know, (Coulson stops, looks over at Simmons and asks) "Simmons," she seems a little flustered, I probably shouldn't have let her come out into the field, not so soon after…well, it's too late for that. (Simmons quickly regains her composure and replies)

"Well, from the thermal imaging that Skye showed us, this field extends nearly 3.5 miles in a circular pattern. In order to maintain a field like that for an extended period of time, the generator would have to massive sir." (Coulson asks) "How massive?" (Simmons shrugs, and replies with an unsure tone) "In layman's terms, to say it could be the size of "The Bus", wouldn't be out of the question." Greeaat. Well, now we got yet another objective, (Coulson continues what he was doing, reaching into the bag with both hands and this time pulling out two pistols, and hands them off to both Simmons and Skye.)

(Skye and Simmons both reluctantly take them, yet Skye asks,) "What about the Icer's?" (Simmons turns to her, answering her question,) "The Icer's are powered by a bio-nonmetric power cell. Which means-" (Skye nods, and interrupts) "They won't work. So guns it is." I never thought I would ever say this, but I hope she remembers Ward's training. (Coulson looks at her looking at the gun, then asks curiously) Remember to-" (Skye ejects the clip, examines it then slaps it back in and quickly pulls back the slide.) "I remember AC." (She uncocks the hammer and tucks the pistol behind her, inside her belt.)

(Coulson nods,) Good, but I'm still nervous bringing her and Simmons into the field, especially on this particular mission. Yet, I understand why Skye wanted to come along; this is personal, for her and me. (Trip interrupts) "Given our current situation, what are your orders, sir?" (Coulson says) "Dr. Streiten is still top priority. But first, we have to find where they're keeping him," (He pauses and once again starts reaching into the bag, this time holding loaded pistol clips. Coulson starts giving each member of the team two clips each.)

(Trip turns around and grabs one of the other bags stowed in the other corner. He unzips it and start pulls out a tactical vest, passing it off to Jaxx. He continues doing this, passing each vest off to Skye, Simmons, Coulson, and finally the last one for him. Everyone starts tearing the Velcro straps off and sliding the vests on. After getting his vest on, Coulson tossed the now empty bag to the side, and grabbed yet another, this one however had 3 M1A1's along with 9 magazines inside.)

It's been a while since I used one of these, but hey, like riding a bike right? (Coulson pulls out an M1A1 and hands it off to Trip, who pulls back the slide and checks the chamber once again. After he finished his inspection, Coulson hand him 3 magazines, one of which he thunked against the rifle itself before slamming in. Trip put the other two clips in the pouches strapped to his vest. Coulson reaches in and pulls out another rifle, this time handing it to Jaxx, who scoffs and walks over to the overhead compartment behind him.)

(He opens it up, pulls out a army green colored duffle bag; he closes the compartment, then sets the bag down on the seats and unzips it. He pulls out and shows everyone his customized P90. He grins then states,) "Thanks, but I got it covered." I should've known as much, (Jaxx quickly reached in the duffle bag and pulled out a magazine, he then slides it in and slaps it, locking it in place. He pulls the slide back, cocking the gun then flips the safety on. He slid the P90 behind him as he collected 6 more magazines and placed them inside the pouches on his vest.)

(The rest of the team looked back at Coulson, who decided to keep the rifle he had in hand and grabbed himself 3 magazines. As he slapped one of the magazines in the rifle, he stated,) "Jaxx will take point and find us a trail leading to Hydra's super-secret base. Once he finds it, we'll determine point of entry. After that, our objectives are simple." Or, at least as simple as one could expect for walking into a potential trap.

(Coulson slid the bag off the seat, and gave everyone a intently serious look, then said) "Find Dr. Streiten, disable the ERSF generator, and get the hell out of here." (Simmons struggled to find the words she wanted to say, until finally she found them and ask,) "What about the research sir? If, and that's a very big if; if Hydra was able to somehow reproduce the serum or derifitive of, what do we do if we find it?"

I knew that's why she wanted to come along, for the serum. She thinks that Streiten can reproduce the serum and use it to save Fitz, but…the side-effects…we can't take that risk, I can't take that risk, not with Fitz. (Coulson replies) "We'll figure that out when we come to it, but for right now our objective is the doctor and the generator. Understood?" (Trip and Skye nod immediately, Simmons however hesitates. Coulson looks at her and after a few seconds, she too nods. Coulson then says,) "Good. Now, is everyone ready?" (Trip, Skye, and Simmons say simultaneously) "Yes sir."

Like a well-oiled mach-wait a minute…(Coulson noticed that Jaxx didn't reply, so he looked over at him, as did the others. Jaxx was putting on the finishing touches of his equipment. He slid two 11 inch bowie knives into the sheaths on his legs. He then pulled the Velcro straps tight and slapped them back onto the vest. Afterwards he looked up at the group, swung his P90 forward and replies,) "Well now, let's go find us a super-secret base, shall we?"

 **15 minutes later**

 **Coordinates: unknown**

They had trekked nearly a mile and ½ inward in just a little over 15 minutes; most of the group thought that they were making good time, but Coulson, his mind was elsewhere. There was an echo in the back of his mind; images of glyphs, the same ones he had just carved into his desk this morning, kept appearing every so often. It was a minor annoyance to a more serious problem; he had hoped that it would eventually go away, but after nearly a week it still keeps coming.

Yet, like always, he put on a brave face and tried focusing on the mission at hand, but a little piece of him hoped that Dr. Streiten could fix it; hopefully before it drove him insane, like it did Garrett. Meanwhile, Simmons looked around and starts talking about the local wildlife and their contribution to their ecosystem. Trip listened, and at times, pretended to understand all the scientific stuff she was talking about.

Skye felt exhausted, and often mumbled to herself how out of shape she is. Mainly though, she was wondering who or what was waiting for them at the end of this yellow brick road of theirs. And Jaxx, well, he was focused on tracking; a few minutes back he had found a trail and some fresh footprints, ones that he determined were only a few hours old. He had followed them until they simple disappeared, like something swooped down and scooped them up. He kept all of this from the team, no sense in worrying them unless absolutely necessary.

But shortly after losing the prints, he had smelled something, something that he's never smelled before. The others didn't notice it, but then again, he's nothing like them; so now, he followed and tracked the smell, hoping that it leads them to their destination quickly. Skye grew tired of hearing Simmons giving a lecture on the reproductive aspects of the local fauna, so she walked up next to Coulson.

 **Skye**

Okay, I really don't want to hear how, bat's or whatever mate, okay. If I wanted to know any of this, I'd watch the Discovery Channel. Guess I'll just see how we're doing on the whole tracking Hydra thing, (She looks up at Jaxx, who is almost 10 secs ahead of them, and leans her head a little towards Coulson and whispers a question,) "He's lost isn't he?" God I hope not, that is the last thing we need. (She waits for an answer, but gets none. So, she looks at Coulson and nudges his arm with her elbow, and says) "Hey AC," (Coulson snaps to attention, and looks over at Skye, who seems a little worried about him. She asks) "You good?"

He seems out of it, I mean like, more than usual; (Coulson replies) "I'm good. Don't worry." (Skye replies) "It's kind of hard not to when your mind is somewhere else. What's up?" and don't try telling me that everything's fine and that you're just focused on getting this mission done, because we both know that, that's a load of bull. (Coulson looks away, remaining silent as they continued following Jaxx.) Okay, now I'm concerned. He's never shut me out like this before, so what gives?

(Skye places her hand on Coulson's shoulder, yet he continues looking forward. She says sincerely,) "AC, don't shut me out, please." I'd never admit this, to anyone but; you're the closest thing to a father that I have, which is why I can't lose you, not like this. (Coulson looks at her, and he could see the look of concern and fear in her eyes.)

He thought about telling her, hell, he desperately wanted to tell her, to tell everyone. But he was afraid, not of what they would think, or how they would react, but of what they wouldn't understand. He knew that Dr. Streiten was his last hope, but if that failed; he knew what would happen next, and he refused to go down the road of John Garrett. So he did what he had to, the only thing he could do to protect them, to protect Skye from his dark truth.

(Coulson replied) "I'm not shutting you out Skye, I'm just…" c'mon just tell me AC. (Skye asks) "Just what?" (Coulson looks over his shoulder at Simmons, still prattling on about their current surroundings. He then looks back at Skye and tells her, lowering his voice) "I'm worried about Simmons." Simmons? Why are you worried about her? (She looks back at Simmons, then back at Coulson and says, also lowering her voice) "Worried that you made a mistake bringing her with us, or-" (Coulson interjects) "That's not what I'm worried about. And to be completely honest, I think she needed to get out; away from the base and from…"

(Coulson hesitated on finishing that sentence, for fear of disrespecting Fitz, which he did not mean or want to do. So instead he change course and stated) "I'm worried that she's not completely honest as to why she really came along." Okay, where are you going with this AC? (Skye questioned Coulson's comment) "You don't think she came to help?" (Coulson gave her a look, the same look he gave her right before he told her about her origin.) That look in his eyes, it's the same one he had when he told me about…so, it's that serious.

(Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, a certain thought hits her out of nowhere.) Wait a second, this is about that! (Skye whispers to Coulson,) "Your worried her finding the new GH serum," (Coulson once again gives her a look, then nods faintly,) So, that's why he's been acting so strange and distant. Why didn't I see it before, (Skye asks) "So I'm guessing you don't want her to find it, right?"

(Coulson looks ahead of him, but responds to her query) "We don't know the side-effects of this new serum, hell; we don't even know the full side-effects of its predecessor, but that won't matter to her." (Once more he looks back at Simmons, who still prattling on, then back at Skye and continues) "If there's the slightest chance it could save Fitz, she'll take it, no matter the consequences." Okay AC, I can see your point, but still, it's Simmons we're talking about here.

(Skye responds) "Still, if there's a chance, why shouldn't we take it?" (Coulson looks at her, questioningly, then replies) "Did you forget about Garrett? What happened to him when he took the original serum?" Yea no, I haven't forgot, and once again I see your point. Geez, what the hell are we supposed to do then, (Skye looks forward, and asks) "So, what exactly is the plan? Destroy it?" that's the only option left, but I hate to do it, especially if it could save Fitz.

(Coulson looks forward, replying with) "I don't know, like I said, we'll cross that bridge if or when we come to it, but for now, we stay focused." (He looks over at Skye, and she at him, and he says) "And we don't tell her, understand?" I don't like lying to her or anyone else here, but until we know what we're dealing with, I'll follow your lead AC. (Skye nods, and replies) "Yes sir."

Keeping secrets wasn't uncommon S.H.I.E.L.D. practice, in fact, it was essential in most cases for Coulson, but ever since he quote on quote "returned from the dead", those secrets have begun to weigh heavy on him. Now he's not only lying to his team, but he's asking one of his own to lie to them as well. He wanted it all to end, for all the lies and half-truths to be over, but he knows all too well that some things never end.

(Jaxx suddenly stops, raising his arm up, his hand clenched into a fist; Coulson recognized this, and copied the motion for Trip and Simmons to see. Now everyone has stopped, wondering what exactly Jaxx is up to. He slowly drops to one knee, and the others once more copy his movement. Jaxx looks behind him and jerks his head, and whispers) "Coulson!" (Coulson quickly walks over next to him, and the two start to converse. Meanwhile, Trip and Simmons come up next to Skye, waiting for orders.)

What are they talking about? They better not be playing a game of grab ass up there. (Simmons whispers a question to Skye,) "What's going on Skye, did Jaxx find something?" I have no freaking clue Simmons, none. (Skye shrugs and whispers a response) "No idea, he just stopped all of a sudden." (Trip looks ahead, then asks in general) "I wonder what they're talking about?"

 **Coulson**

"What is it?" (Jaxx brings one finger up to his lips, and shushes; he then asks) "Do you hear that?" (Coulson takes a moment to listen to his surroundings.) I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to be listening for, so the better question is, what does he hear that I can't? (Coulson responds) "Nothing." (Jaxx turns to him and states) "Exactly." Okay, now you've lost me, (Jaxx looks all around, stating) "According to the satellite image that Skye showed us, we're about a mile and ½ inland, right?"

I'm still not sure where you're going with this, but, (Coulson responds, with uncertainty in his voice) "Give or take I guess, why? What are you getting at?" (Jaxx looks down at the ground, as if he spotted something there he hadn't before. He replied sarcastically) "You must be losing your touch sitting behind that fancy desk of yours." Not as much as you'd think, smart guy. (Jaxx continued) "Listen, and this time tell me what you don't hear."

*Sighs* fine, (Coulson closes his eyes and listens closely. But after nearly a minute, he heard exactly what he did last time; nothing, no birds chirping, no mysterious growls no…That's when it hits him, and he says shockingly) "How did I miss that?" (he looks over at Jaxx, who looks up at the tree next to him, and asks) "How long has it been like this?" I heard Jaxx was good at tracking, but I never thought he'd be this good. Romanoff would be jealous.

(Jaxx looks back down at the ground and replies) "5 minutes, give or take. And I've got to tell you Coul; 7 years as a marine, and liaison to S.H.I.E.L.D., I've seen some unexplainable things, but this…" (Jaxx picks up an old bird's nest, and holds it in his hands. He continued to say) "It's like every single creature that lived here, just up and disappeared. Or was frightened off by...something." Most likely by whatever experiments Hydra was doing here, (Coulson looks forward, assessing his surroundings and states) "That's no coincidence," (Jaxx shakes his head, then gently lays the nest back down on the ground.)

Well, at least we're on the right track, and now, we follow it, no matter where it leads. (Coulson pats Jaxx on the back, and states) "Let's get back to the others, and make a game plan." (Once again Jaxx nods, but he continues staring off ahead; it was almost like he saw something, briefly, and was trying to find it once again.) Why's he staring off in the distance like that, does he see something? (Coulson asks curiously) "Do you see something?" he doesn't say a word, he just stares off ahead. I've never seen him this focused.

(Suddenly, he snaps out of whatever trance-like state he was in, and looks over at Coulson.) I know better than to push him for answers, so for now, let's just get back to the others. (Coulson jerks his head, towards the Skye, Trip, and Simmons. Jaxx acknowledges and the two re-join the group. After a very brief moment, Skye asks her question) "So, what's the deal?" Well, good news, then, not so good news. (Coulson replies) "Good news, we're on the right track."

(Everyone looked confused or unsure, everyone except him and Jaxx, who still looks uneasy. Trip speaks up, asking) "How can you be sure?" (Coulson replies) "Well, for one, Jaxx is one of the best trackers in the world. So if he says we're going in the right direction, then we are." (Everyone gives each other a look, then they look back at Coulson and nod. Simmons speaks up and asks) "Well, what do we do now sir?" (Before Coulson could answer, Jaxx makes a suggestion) "Coul, I could scout ahead, look for any signs of recent foot traffic, or if nothing else; scout out any traps that might be ahead.?"

(Coulson nods in agreement, and says) "Not a bad idea." (Trip speaks up and asks) "Mind if I come with?" (Jaxx shrugs, then looks at Coulson and says) "I wouldn't mind some company? Or an extra gun, Coul." I was just about to suggest that, (Coulson replies) "Go, but be back in 15 minutes. If you're not back by then, we'll come looking." (Coulson looks over at Trip, who nods in agreement, then back at Jaxx, who responds by saying,) "Roger that. See you in 15." I hope so, and for our sake, I get back in one piece.

(Jaxx takes point, with Trip covering him and the two rush off ahead. Coulson walks over to a tree, brushing off a spot on the ground before sitting. Skye and Simmons find a tree adjacent to him and do the same, and all three began to wait. The humidity made it a bit uncomfortable, as the moist air seemed to make everything musky. Skye lets out a sigh while Simmons takes a drink of water from her canteen. Coulson just sat there, rifle resting in his lap, reminiscing on the past year.)

Jungles, why do the bad guys always have to build their secret bases in jungles? It must be a bad guy thing. (Skye interrupts his train of thought, asking) "Hey AC," (he immediately looks over, and see's Skye sitting there, smiling a bit, and taking a sip from her canteen.) Oh no, I know that grin, I hate that grin. (Skye continues) "You never did give any details on how you and Jaxx met up; I mean, you just said that it involved a 084 and that was it. So, what was the 084, was it an alien artifact or some sort of super-secret-soldier serum type deal or something?" I couldn't help but smile a little, I mean; even after all this, she's still so curious about Jaxx, it's unbelievable.

Well, I guess I gotta give her something to sate her curiosity. (Coulson says) "Something like that." She continues to smile; even this heat can't seem to dampen her spirit, or her need to know things. (Skye insists) "C'mon, AC, details. Don't let us die of boredom and…moistness." She's never going to let this go if I don't tell her something, (Coulson readjusts himself, leaning against the tree, and starts to sport a snarky grin; one that both Simmons and Skye notice. Coulson replies simply with,) "How about, instead, I tell you about…

 **7 minutes later**

 **Trip**

(Beads of sweat start dripping down Trip's forehead, which he constantly has to keep wiping off.) Man, I hate jungles; always so damn hot, it's crazy. (He looks up at Jaxx, who doesn't seem to be sweating as much as him.) How the hell is he not fatigued, like at all? The guy's tough I'll give him that. (Jaxx suddenly stops, which causes Trip to do the same.) What now? (Trip walks up next to Jaxx, the asks) "You find something?" (Jaxx nods, and kneels down; Trip does the same, after which Jaxx looked at the ground in front of them. Gently, he brushed away a few leaves with his hand, while still gripping the P90 with his other.)

Boot print. The tread pattern is different, definitely not S.H.I.E.L.D. issued. Man, this guy is good. (Trip asks) "How old is it?" Jaxx places his hand on both sides of the print, then he dabs the inside with two fingers. (Jaxx responds) "2 days at most. But it means we're on the right track." (Jaxx and Trip stand up, and continue heading through the foliage, side by side. Suddenly out of nowhere Trip asks) "You mind if ask you a question?" (Jaxx looks over at him, before looking back ahead of him and states) "You kind of just did." (Jaxx grins)

Smartass, (Trip grins a little, but reiterates) "No I mean, really." He just shrugs, but still wears that grin, (Jaxx replies) "Shoot," (Without hesitation, he asks the only question that's been bugging him since he met Jaxx.) "How are you and Jemma related, if you don't mind me asking?" (Jaxx looks over, with a look of mild surprise on his face. He then jokingly says) "Jemma, huh? Do I have to ask about your intent with my lil sis?" (The two share a chuckle, even though it was clear that Trip had feelings of some sort for Simmons, he wasn't about to tell her brother about them.)

"*chuckling* No seriously, I mean you to don't exactly-" (Jaxx cuts him off and says) "Look like bro and sis?" no, but now that you mention it, you don't really share any of the same features. (Trip replies) "Sound like her brother." (Jaxx nods as he looks forward, watching for any hint of a trail or anything out of place. Yet he responds by saying) "Well, that's because I'm not actually her brother," (Trip's grip on his rifle tightened,) if this is the part where you tell me that your some, I-don't-know-what, and you're here to kill us; then we about to have a problem.

"I was adopted, sort of…" (Jaxx's statement relieved him, and he slowly loosened his grip.) Sort of, what does that even mean? (Trip asks) "What do you mean, sort of?" (Jaxx's grin lessened each time Trip asked a question, which he noticed. Jaxx replied) "It wasn't exactly official or anything, but nonetheless, I consider her family. Coulson too; it's like I told Jem way back when. 'Family isn't earned or bought or even about blood. Family…is who you are willing to die for." Wow, that was…wow.

(Jaxx continued looking ahead, paying close attention to his surroundings.) I shouldn't push my luck, but I just need to know one more thing. (Trip asks) "If she's family, then why don't you want her to know about you being 'The Sword' and all?" (The question stopped Jaxx dead in his tracks, and when he stopped, so did Trip. The grin that Jaxx once had was long gone, and was instead replaced by a stern, brooding scowl. He looked over at Trip) Maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut.

(Jaxx takes in a deep breath, and looks around briefly. Soon his eyes returned to Trips, and he answered, honestly.) "Before I tell you, you have to understand something first. I made her a promise, a long time ago, that I would never lie to her, no matter what. Not even to spare her hurt feelings, you understand?" of course, (Trip nods, and replies) "I get it," (Jaxx looks away, shaking as he does so. But he quickly looks back at him and replies) "No you don't,"

(Jaxx continued) "See, I told her when I joined up with the Marine Corps; hell, I even told her about how Fury tried to recruit me to S.H.I.E.L.D.; all because she asked, and I told her, but…" (Jaxx hesitated, but continued making his point) "The stories they told about me, 'The Sword' at the academy…their just that, stories. The real missions, they are the ones I'm trying to protect her from, but if she asks," I know what you're saying. (Trip says) "Then you'd have to tell her the truth."

(Jaxx nods, then looks down at the ground, and shortly thereafter; he readjusts his weapon, and looks up at Trip and states) "And the truth is I'm not the man she thinks I am. *sighs* She only sees her big brother, someone who's understanding and fun and kind, a hero. I don't want her to see the truth." (Trip looks back at him, and asks) "And what's the truth?" (Jaxx clenches his jaw, causing the muscle on the side of his head to bulge out. He then replied, with a cold, emotionless tone.)

"That I'm, not the hero she thinks I am. Not after what I've done, what I've had to do; for S.H.I.E.L.D., for the Marine Corps…for her." (Jaxx turned and started walking again, and Trip followed, walking side-by-side. Jaxx spoke,) "I don't want her to be tainted by my darkness. Which is why, she can't know about me or 'The Sword', understand?" I understand man, I do, really, but…(Trip responds) "Look I get it, really I do; you want to make sure that she still sees you as you and not some…bad guy. But here's the thing about family…they can tell when your hiding something and sooner or later it will come out."

(Trip continues) "It's better to tell her now, than to have her find out later. Plus, it'd be better coming from you than someone else." Jemma is the most kind-hearted person that I've ever met, and if she truly considers you to be her brother, adoptive or otherwise; then she'll find some way to forgive you. No doubt about it. (Jaxx takes a moment to consider what Trip said, but the moment doesn't last. A gust of wind rushes through the trees, and along with it a rank, decaying odor finds its way to Jaxx. When he catches the whiff, it takes every ounce of training not to throw up.)

(Trip however doesn't react, instead he stands there, wondering what's gotten into Jaxx,) he doesn't look so good, almost like he ate a 2 week old taco. (Jaxx turns to his left, and stares of into the distance. He stands there, like a statue, not moving or saying a word.) Okay, now he's starting to freak me out, seriously; what's wrong with him? (Trip places a hand on Jaxx's shoulder and asks) "Hey man, everything good?" (Jaxx doesn't look at him, doesn't move, he just continues standing there staring off. His nostrils flare, and he responds) "No it's not."

(Jaxx looks over at Trip, astern and uneasy look plastered on his face, and he asks) "I'm guessing that you can't smell that huh?" smell what? (Trip shakes his head and replies) "Nah man, I don't-" (Jaxx takes of sprinting before Trip could finish his sentence.) WHAT THE HELL!? (Trip pursues Jaxx, chasing him, trying to catch up. But Jaxx seems to be keeping a good distance between him and Trip.) Damn this dude is fast! (Trip shouts,) "Jaxx, stop!?"

(Jaxx continues to running, ignoring Trip's order.) Seriously, what is this dude's deal? (Jaxx runs through some heavy foliage and brush, knocking away the limbs and leaves in his path. Trip too knocked away leaves and limbs, but found himself in a clearing and Jaxx nowhere in sight.) Damn…not good, not good at all. (Trip tries to catch his breath, and breaths in through his nose, but almost immediately inhale something rank and putrid.)

(He holds back the urge to vomit, which is difficult, given how overpowering the smell is. He places his arm over his nose and mouth, using it as some makeshift respirator.) What in the hell is that? (The smell seemed to be coming from all around him, but as he looked he saw nothing. He started to wonder,) Maybe I should head back to Coulson, give him a heads up on Jaxx, maybe he could-(Before he could finish his thought, he felt something behind him touch his shoulder.)

(Like a knee-jerk reaction, he immediately spins around, clicks off the safety, and aims his rifle at…) "Jaxx!" (Trip says relieved to see a familiar face. He lowers his gun and takes in a deep breath, only to once again to be forced into inhale the putrid aroma.) Damnit. (Trip clicks the safety back on, and tries the hold back the urge to throw-up his quesadilla that he had for lunch.)

(Trip asks, with a annoyed tone) "Where the hell did you run of to? And what the hell is that smell?" (Jaxx didn't say a word, he just stood there, not nearly as out of breath a Trip. But Trip saw the look on his face and became concerned,) Man, he looks like he saw death or something…(Trip asked, concerned) "Hey man, you don't look too good, Are you ok?" his jaw clenched, and from the look in his eyes; he definitely found something, although I doubt it's anything good.

(Jaxx says with a cold-emotionless tone) "This way, and it ain't pretty." (Jaxx turns to his left, but this time he walks, giving Trip the chance to actually keep up with him. The two walk for about a minute, but then Trip got more concerned and asked Jaxx) "Did you find something?" (Jaxx remains silent, like a ghost or shadow.) I may not know the guy all that well, but he seems shaken. And I'm not sure I want or see what could do that to him.

(With each passing second, the odor becomes stronger and stronger, until it starts to become unbearable for Trip. Yet, as Trip coughs and hacks due to the intensity of said smell, Jaxx just remains unaffected. Eventually they find it; they find the source of the aroma. As the two looked down, into a not-so-freshly dug pit, Trip lowered his hand from his mouth and a look of horror encompassed his face. All his years at S.H.I.E.L.D. and with Garrett, he had never seen anything like this before.)

(His mind could barely comprehend what he was looking at, and the sudden urge to vomit became increasingly difficult to ignore. Trip says, with a shocked and sorrow-filled tone) "Oh my God…" (Those were the only words he could muster at the time, and given the horrid scene he was looking at, who could blame him. Jaxx on the other hand, he wasn't horrified at what he was seeing, this wasn't the first time he had seen something like this. No instead, he was angry.)

(He got angrier and angrier the more he looked at it. It took every fiber within him to keep his emotions under control; to keep himself under control. It was hard, but he was determined to finish his mission. He says to Trip,) "Coulson needs to see this, NOW."

 **Coulson, Simmons, Skye**

 **Simmons**

I can't believe what I'm hearing! This can't be true, can it? (Skye says with excitement) "No Freaking Way! Are you for real, right now!?" calm down Skye, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation to…all of this. (Skye and Simmons had just spent the last few minute listening to Coulson talk about some of his adventures with Jaxx. How they met, what mission they were on and surprisingly, it all involved a certain Avenger.)

(Coulson sat there, straight faced, and replied to Skye's glee-filled question) "It's true." This is…I'm just shocked to hear this, I mean; why didn't Jaxx tell me any of this? Why would he keep this a secret? (Skye looks over at Simmons, still shocked and awed by what she had previously heard, and asks her) "Did you know about Simmons?" of course not, and even if I did, well, (Simmons replied,) "I had no idea, he never told me. *mumbles to herself* Why would he keep something like that a secret?"

(Though she mumbled, everyone could still hear her, including Coulson who replied) "Well, in his defense; he was ordered not to tell anyone, plus it was a favor for a friend, but I'm sure that if you asked, he would've told you." Right, your right sir, because he made me a promise, but still…(Skye shakes her head, still smiling from ear to ear, and states) "Wow, it's just…I can't believe that he knows 'The' Tony Stark, Iron freakin Man."

(Coulson interjects, stating) "Well, technically the two never met; Jaxx just tracked Stark from the convoy to within a 2 mile radius of where he was found." So wait, (Simmons asks) "How long had he been tracking Mr. Stark for?" (Coulson replied) "Don't know, all I know is that he found where Stark was being held, and he tracked him from there. Once he had eyes on him, he radioed Col. Rhodes and the rest is history."

I had no idea that my brother was so good at tracking, I mean he must be, seeing as how that terrain is extremely difficult to-oh girl, your completely overthinking this, again. (Then it suddenly hits her, what Coulson just said and she asks) "Wait, Jaxx knows Col. Rhodes?" Coulson simply nods, doesn't say a word. (Skye says excitedly) "War Machine? He knows War Machine, dude," (Skye turns to Simmons, who looks back at her, and says) "You bro, is like, really impressive."

Was that a hint of admiration towards my brother, why Skye, I do believe that you've become infatuated with him. (Coulson jests) "It sounds like you might have a little bit of a crush on Jaxx, doesn't it Simmons?" (Simmons grins a little, and also jests) "It does doesn't it sir?" (The two simply grin as they look at Skye, who was becoming a little uneasy with what they were implying.)

(Skye retorts) "What, I *stammering* I mean, he's cute don't get me wrong but I would never-" oh I do believe it's time to have some fun with her, (Simmons says, with a straight face) "Are you saying that your too good for my brother, is that it?" (Skye looks over at her, a little shocked and flustered by her accusation) oh the look on her face, so worth it.

(Skye replies) "No, no that's not what I'm saying it's just, that he's not really the type of guy I go for, that's all." (Simmons replies) "Oh I see," (Simmons turns to Coulson and says) "It sounds like she's saying that he not in her league, doesn't Director Coulson." (Coulson replies) "It does, doesn't it?" (Skye looks back and forth between Coulson and Simmons, unsure of what to say, becoming more and more flustered to the point where she can barely get any words out.)

(Skye tries to reply) "*Stammering* Wait no, that's not what I'm saying, it's just…" (Coulson and Simmons couldn't maintain their 'poker faces' any longer, as smiles started to slipping. Skye noticed them, and was no longer flustered, instead she was annoyed and perhaps a little irritated and responded by saying) "Oh ha ha, very funny. Not cool guys, not cool." (Coulson and Simmons burst out in mild laughter, unable to hold it back any longer.)

(Simmons replies) "*Chuckling* I'm sorry Skye, but it was so worth it." don't be spoil sport, it was all in good fun. (Skye shook her head, and began laughing a little too. After a minute, the laughter stopped and everything was quiet once again. The mood however, was much lighter, fun even. Skye then looks over at Simmons, who still had a smile on her face, and said) "I've missed that." (Simmons looked at Skye, and replied) "Missed what?"

(Skye replied) "The laughter, it's been too long. I've missed it." Yes it has Skye, unfortunately. (Simmons replies) "Me too Skye, me too." (The three of them slowly grow quiet. Each one starts reminiscing on a time when they were happy, at peace. But the quiet doesn't last, when they suddenly hear moist leaves crunching off in the distance, and getting closer. Coulson immediately stirs to action, gripping his rifle and clicking off the safety.)

(He slowly stands up, and moves quietly over to Simmons, aiming his weapon in the direction the noise is coming from. Skye reaches behind her and removes the pistol from her waist. She too clicks off the safety and readies herself. Simmons reaches for her pistol, but fumbles around with it, meanwhile the sound of crunching leaves gets closer and closer. Coulson waits, Skye takes a couple of deep breaths, and Simmons finally finds the safety on her gun.)

Oh god, oh god, I haven't used an actual gun since the academy, and poorly at that. (Suddenly from the brush emerges…Trip, Coulson and company breathe a sigh of relief. Everyone lowers their guns, and everyone stands to greet their companion.) Oh thank god, Trip, you nearly scared the bloody hell out of me. (Simmons says with a sigh of relief) "Trip, thank god." (Coulson and Trip meet up, and Coulson asks) "You back, early…" wait a second, where is-(Simmons asks, concerned) "Where's Jaxx?"

Trip looks horrifying, like he's seen a ghost or something. Now I'm even more worried, please, don't let Jaxx be…(Coulson interrupts her train of thought by asking Trip) "Did you two find something?" (Trip hesitates, but soon answers) "You need to see it for yourself sir." Why won't he just tell us? Please oh please, let Jaxx be alright. (Coulson takes a step forward, placing him just a few inches in front of Trip. He whispers his question) "How bad?" I can barely hear them, what don't they want us to hear? (Trip replies) "It's bad sir."

 **8 minutes later**

It had been only minutes since anyone has said anything, but for Simmons, and Skye, it felt like days. It wasn't the increasingly eerie silence that was troubling them; instead it was the continuingly ghostly expression on agent Triplett's face. He was extremely vague about what had him so distraught, but he kept reassuring everyone, Simmons especially; that Jaxx was in fact alive and uninjured, but that they had to see what had been found. When it came to Hydra and they're experiments, they tried to brace themselves for what was to come; however, nothing could have prepared them for horrifying scene that they were about to come upon.

As they got closer to the recent discovery, Coulson, Skye, and Simmons began to smell a most putrid odor, the same odor that Jaxx and Trip had smelled previously. The three covered their mouths, using their arms and shirt sleeves as makeshift respirators; much like Trip did at first. Trip could never get used to such a horrendous odor or the scene that he was just a few feet away from showing his teammates.

Trip had stopped walking, and turned around to look at the three. Just beyond the leaf-covered limb, was what they needed to see, but he hesitated. Part of him thought that it might be for the best if he didn't show them, but the other part knew that he had to. He turned back and parted the limb out of the way and holding it so that the others could pass through first. The first sight they saw was Jaxx, just standing there looking down into a pit of some kind.

Simmons was relieved, so much so that she nearly ran to him so that she could hug him. But, when Jaxx looked up from the pit and into her eyes; his look alone stopped her cold in her tracks, just mere inches away. She had never seen that look in his eyes before, which made her curious and concerned. His eyes drifted down and to the left; she looked down where he was previously, and when she saw what was in the pit, she finally understood what had made her brother and Trip, so uneasy.

She gasped, taking a few steps backwards, nearly stumbled until Jaxx caught her. Skye and Coulson, without thinking, rush over to her, looking worried. Before they could even get out a question, the two looked down and to the right. They looked into the pit and they too became horrified by what they were seeing. Coulson's face went pale as the shock began to set in; he had seen a lot in his years as an S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, some good, some not so much, but this…

Skye raised her hand up to her mouth; part of her wanted to scream though she didn't know why. The other part wanted to vomit, so much so that she had to turn away from the others and run over to some shrubbery. Coulson turned when he heard the familiar sound of vomit hitting the grounding, but when he saw Jaxx rushing over to her; he returned focus back to the pit. Trip walked over and stood on the other side of Simmons, who horribly enthralled. Coulson continued staring, and deep within the pit of his stomach; he felt like this was only the beginning of what they would find.


	10. Ep1 Ch4 Crucible pt2

**(Disclaimer:** **Hey ladies and gents, sorry that it's been a while since I posted any chapters but I've been working on other projects that I've had in the works for some time and I would like to thank you all for your patience. This chapter is longer than previous chapters because I was trying to finish the story in one huge chapter but I got overwhelmed so I decided to cut it off here. Thanks for support and for liking the story I have created and stay tuned for the last chapter of this particular story.**

 **Once again I like to say that I in no way own nor control any Marvel characters in this story or any other, all I control is my own imagination and of course my custom character Jaxx. Leave comments if you wish and I will post the last chapter as soon as possible. Peace)**

 **Location: 2 ½ miles inland, aka "The Pit"**

It's been just over 5 minutes since Coulson, Skye, and Simmons were brought to the pit. Just a little over 5 minutes, since they first gazed into the massive grave which was before them; looking on in horror and disbelief at the distorted bodies that riddled the pit. As they stared into the eyes of the dead, they all had one singular thought; why these people? What gave Hydra the right to steal them away from their lives only to snuff them out when they were through?

Since he graduated from the academy and became an agent, he has seen his fair share of some really bad and distasteful things, but this…he could never have imagine that anyone was capable of something like this, but then again; Hydra was more than capable of commenting heinous acts like this. Agent Triplett was both speechless and horrified when he first saw the pit, but seeing it a second time only made him feel more disgusted than the first. He chose not to ignore this, to not put his emotions aside for the mission instead; he vowed to find those responsible, and make them pay for what they've done here.

Simmons is a brilliant scientist and an extraordinary biochemist; she had studied some of the more complicated aspects of the human genome as well as enhanced genome. She was also curious too, often wondering and getting distracted by even the smallest details; this is what made her uniquely qualified to join S.H.I.E.L.D.; when she went to the academy, she reveled in all the wondrous things that she would see and experience once she graduated. Both frightened and excited by the unknown, with help from a certain colleague and her lab partner, Leo Fitz she dived into the fray head-on and eventually, was no longer fearful of the unknown, instead she embraced them as new and exciting challenges.

She had seen some strange and even deadly experiments while in the company of Director Coulson, then Agent Coulson, and his rag-tag team and yet; when she stood over the mass grave, filled with what she supposed was the failed results of GH.325, she felt out of her depth and once more, she felt fear. Normally, with her partner Fitz by her side, she would be more focused on what happened and what exactly was done to them. But Fitz wasn't here, not now anyways; without him here, she felt alone and frightened, like she did when she was just a child.

Outside of the occasional horror movie, Skye had never been witness to such a grotesque scene before. Seeing the pale, distorted corpses was enough to make her nauseated, but the smell of decay, and rotting flesh was just too much for her to contain. The entirety forced her to run over to the tree and vomit up what was left of her breakfast. Now, the nausea was starting to subside but the stench from the pit remained in the air, even more so due to the tropical heat. She thought that she would vomit again, but surprisingly, she managed to keep it together this time.

Taking slow, deep breaths in and out help as she tried to focus on anything other than what laid just 10 feet away. Her face and arms were soaking in sweat, and thanks to the heat that the tropical forest was so kind to provide. With beads of sweat dripping from her face and forehead, like a leaky faucet; she was amazed at herself, mainly due to the fact that she was still on her feet. Drinking water from her canteen would provide some relief from the heat, but part of her was unsure that she could keep it down.

Jaxx was perhaps the calmest and reserved among the group, at least that's what he portrayed. Inside however, he fought to keep his emotions in check, but seeing all those people just piled up on one another was almost too much to take. This wasn't the first mass grave that he had seen, but that doesn't make it any easier, especially when it involves Hydra. He tried so hard not to think about it, but the more he tried not to, the more it kept rushing him.

He had seen evil before, hell, he's even been up close with it many times, but what he saw was way beyond just evil. Seeing what Hydra was capable of only fueled his rage and hatred for them. Not letting it get the better of him, he focused on helping the hacker/agent Skye instead. He wasn't sure how much help he could actually be, but what other choice was there? Placing his hand on her back, he gently started rubbing her back counter-clockwise, hoping that at least it helps, if only a little.

He thought he saw it all, he thought that after that he had been through, nothing could rattle him ever again, but he was wrong. No amount of training or experience could have prepared him for this. Coulson had seen some bad things in his lifetime; from Obadiah Stane and his Iron Monger suit, to the Asgardian killing machine 'The Destroyer' nearly leveling a small town. He even survived being stabbed through the heart by Loki, which coincidentally, brings him here to this moment. Refusing to let his best agent, one he trained personally, to die on his watch Nick Fury did something unthinkable to bring him back. Fury stated that he would move heaven and hell to bring Coulson back, and he used Project T.A.H.I.T.I. to do it, but the cost was nearly too high.

Unbeknownst to him, the process which involved the serum Gh.325 was now the sole reason for Coulson being here. Coulson had wanted to believe that this had ended with Garrett's death, but deep down he knew better. As he stared into the pit, looking into the soulless clouded eyes of the dead, it all became all too clear.

 **Coulson**

My god…how could they… (Staring down into the pit, his mind could barely grasp what he was seeing. So much that, his mind could barely form a thought.) I didn't know that Hydra was capable of something like this, much less actually… (He could hardly stand the sight of the bodies, but he noted that each one had similarities. Some had boils and blisters on their arms and faces, while others had blood coming from their ears, eyes, and mouth.)

(Triplett noticed that Director Coulson had yet to say a word and the fact that he was just standing there staring at the decaying bodies, left him more than concerned. Simmons had noticed this as well, and was also concerned, but she was still a bit shaken from her current experience. Trip asked.) "Are you okay sir?" (Coulson was so fixated on the bodies, trying to find some meaning in it all, that he didn't even hear him.)

(Simmons looks over at him, as she less horrified by what is in front of her, and more concerned with how Coulson was dealing with it all. She asks.) "Sir?" (Somehow, she managed to snap him out of his own thoughts. He turned to her, looking still a bit shocked and confused, as if he had just awoken from a nightmare. Coulson replied with a single word.) "Trash."

(Simmons was confused, as was Triplett. Neither of them knew what he meant, so Trip asked him) "What do you mean 'Trash' sir?" (Coulson looked back at the pit, and stated,) "These people had lives, families, people who cared about them, but Hydra…(Looks over at Trip, voice turning stern, angry) These people were nothing but failed trial runs. So, once they were done, they just dug a hole and tossed them in it, like trash."

(Coulson looks back at the pit, briefly, before looking back at Trip and stated with certainty) "We may not stop Hydra today or tomorrow, but this (points to the bodies that riddled the pit) this ends today. (Looks over at Simmons) No more innocent people are going to die for this. Whatever this new serum can do (Turns back to Trip) it's not worth paying this kind of price."

(Coulson was more determined, now more than ever, to stop Hydra and their plans for the serum. Trip whole-heartedly agreed, and so he asked "Understood sir. We're with you." (Simmons hesitated for a split second, but soon said) "We're all in agreement sir." I don't know if I could make it this far without any of you and I'm really glad I don't have to find out.

 **Skye**

Sonuvabitch, I can't believe that I just, upchucked in front of everyone, like some newb their first day in the field. I'm better than this, stronger than this, but those people…their faces, the look of sheer pain…what in god's name did Hydra do to them? Was all this just some sort of, failed experiment or something? I don't even wanna know what all Hydra put them through; all it'll do is make my stomach churn again, and I don't think I handle a third go around with my breakfast burrito.

(She wipes her mouth with her rolled up sleeve then starts taking a deep breath, and then exhaling. Using her hands she wipes away the sweat which still beaded down her face, afterwards she turn around towards Jaxx. She started to feel a bit dizzy, and for a second her sight began to blur so she closed her eyes to try and focus.)

(Jaxx places his hand gently on her shoulder and asks) "You good?" well, my head is spinning, I feel like I'm about to throw up again, and on top of that I feel like I lost 20 lbs. worth of sweat thanks to this sauna we're walking through; so my answer would have to be a big fat no. (Skye replies) "Yeah, I'm fine." (Jaxx could tell that she was lying, in fact he knew it. He replies) "It was rhetorical. You need a drink."

Yeah, well (She opens her eyes, gives him a half-hearted smile and replied sarcastically) "Yeah, well let me if you spot a Tiki bar will ya?" (Jaxx gives her a half-assed grin) What? I'm trying to lighten the mood a bit. (Jaxx replies) "You need to keep hydrated otherwise you'll pass out from the heat. Where's your canteen?" Relax; I've got it right… (She reaches down at her waist, only to find that the canteen that was supposed to be hanging there wasn't.)

What the he-(She looks down, only to confirm that the canteen wasn't there, but soon realized where it was, or more specifically, where she left it. She sighs and replies) "Damnit," (She looked up at Jaxx, who was still waiting for her answer, and replied in an exhausted tone) "I must've forgot my canteen on the plane." Great Skye, just freaking perfect; add one more thing to my shit list.

(Jaxx doesn't say a word, he simply removes his backpack, placing it on the ground. He unclips the full canteen from his pack, and holds it out to Skye. He says) "Here," What, no I can't… (Jaxx continues) "Take a couple of swigs; you'll feel better." Well, it's not like I have a whole lot of options here. (She gratefully takes the canteen from Jaxx. Quickly she unscrewed the lid, taking a gulp. The cool water splashed back and forth as it went down her throat.)

Damn, I really needed that. (She takes another swig only this time it was a bigger gulp than she expected. She closed her eyes, tilted her head forward, and held her hand up to her mouth; trying to keep more than a mouth full of water from spilling out. After gulping down the water, she opened her eyes and looked at Jaxx, who was staring off in the direction of Coulson and the rest of the team.) I can only imagine what he's thinking about or how he's dealing with…what we saw.

(She holds the canteen out towards him, but he's so fixated that he doesn't notice; so she taps him on the chest, which seemed to finally catch his attention. He turned to her and she handed off the canteen, after taking it, he took a couple of gulps. Jaxx screwed the lid back on before kneeling down to clip it back onto his pack. Meanwhile Skye looked over at the group, and her mind began thinking, wondering about those who were thrown into the pit. She asked,) "Jaxx," I don't even know what I'm supposed to say, if anything.

(Jaxx looked up, just as Skye looked down at him. She couldn't find the words she was looking to say, which made Jaxx curious and somewhat concerned. He asked) "You okay?" am I okay? That has got to be the stupidest question that I've heard today. (She replies) "I am, so far from okay right now. Okay is not even a blip on my radar." (She looks over at the pit, while Jaxx paused for a second, before finishing clipping on his canteen. Afterwards he stood up and flung the straps over his shoulders and adjusted it so that it was more comfortable.)

(Skye asked, still staring at the pit,) "Do you think that Streiten is still alive?" (She looks back at Jaxx, who just stands there. He looks down at his feet for a split-second before returning his eyes to hers. His response) "I honestly don't know." Not the answer I was looking for, but at least he doesn't hold back. (Skye looks down; glancing out the corner of her eye at the pit. She remembered an old 70's horror movie she watched, way back before Coulson recruited her for S.H.I.E.L.D.)

(In the movie, there was this lab with people strapped to tables and scientist's experimenting on them using various drugs trying to create a perfect monster. It was corny, she knew that, but there was something about it that caused her to have nightmares for weeks after. It wasn't the gore, or the violence, or even the less than D-list acting; it was the screams that stuck with her, that caused her nightmares to seem so real.)

Great, now I'm going to have nightmares again, thanks to what Hydra did to those people. But the truth is; we failed, plain and simple. This is our mess, a mess that should have ended with Garrett. (Jaxx, gently taps her on the shoulder, and says) "Don't," (She seemed confused by his single word. Her eyes snap from the pit, back to Jaxx as she looks up at his stern expression.) Huh? Don't what? What's he talking about?

(She asks) "Don't what?" (Jaxx continues) "I know that look, in your eyes. Don't blame yourself for what happened to those people. It's not on you." Is that really what you believe, that me and Coulson aren't somehow responsible for what Hydra did to them? You're wrong Jaxx. (She shakes her head, and responds) "It is on me. If I hadn't played cowboy and gotten shot, Coulson would never had to go looking for the GH.325 and none of this would have ever happened."

(Jaxx gives her an intense look, as he states) "Listen, one way or another Hydra would've found out a way to recreate the drug, with or without you and Coulson." You might be right, but it's just-(Jaxx continues) "If you wanna beat yourself up on what if's then go right ahead. It'll only drive you bat-shit crazy." (She takes a second, to gather her thoughts, and then asks him) "How do you deal, with all of this, seeing things likes this day in and out?"

He rubs his face, and sighs, which means that he hates my prying. (Jaxx responds) "You move past it, you take it day by day." That's it, it's really that simple huh? (She asks angrily) "So just like that huh, just move on and forget?" (Jaxx pauses, taking in her words, mostly the anger within them.) Wow, I sounded like a total bitch there, I should apol-(Jaxx replies) "You never forget. Ever. But you can't let your failures define you, that is why we move on."

"It's never going to be easy, but it's what we do. Now you have to decide whether you'll keep going, or if you wanna give up." (He walks away, without saying another word, over to Coulson and company. She stands there, dwelling on his words and their meaning. Giving up is never something she was good at, but this, this was her life now, for better or worse. She walked over and joined up with the rest of the group.)

(The smell once again hit her, harder than before, but she pushed it back and focused. She stood next to Jaxx, and the two shared a look before turning their attention back to the task at hand. Trip concerned for her health, asked Skye) "How you feelin girl?" Pissed off and ready to whoop some ass Trip. (She looks over at him and replies) "Better once we find Streiten. So, (Turns to Coulson) what's next sir?"

Each had an opinion on what they should do next; Simmons had asked permission to examine the bodies, in the hopes of confirming whether or not Hydra had successfully recreated the drug or if these poor souls were nothing more than failed experiments. Trip suggested that the remains be burned, just in case said remains were somewhat contagious. Coulson knew that time was against them, leaving very little time to ponder on the options before him. Against every ounce of decency he made his choice, stating to the others that Dr. Streiten and the drug were the reason that they were here and that, unfortunately, they could ill afford wasting any more time getting side-tracked.

Everyone understood and deep down they knew that it was the right call to make, but that doesn't mean that it sat well with any of them, including Coulson. He finished by saying that they would figure out what to do with the remains, once Streiten was in their custody and they had taken out the generator for the **Electro-Refraction Stasis Field**. While Coulson and team were finishing their discussion, Jaxx had spotted something curious; a trail of footprints leading to and from the edge of the pit.

Quickly he notified the others of his discovery, during which they all gathered around. He was able to determine that most of the footprints were at least a few months old, but there were one set that couldn't be more than a few hours old. Suspecting that these prints would lead them to their objective, Coulson ordered Jaxx to take point once again while he, Skye, and Simmons followed and Trip covering the rear.

 **10 minutes later**

It had been a long day, overcoming one obstacle after another, so it was no surprise that everyone seemed so exhausted from this whole ordeal. The heat was never-ending and relentless, making it difficult for everyone to focus on the task at hand. Having to constantly wipe away the sweat from their foreheads was becoming an all too familiar routine. Regardless they continued forward knowing full well what was at stake. Suddenly, Jaxx stops; raising his fist up, signaling the others to stop, which they do.

 **Coulson**

What now? (Jaxx unclenches his fist, leveling out his hand and raised it up and down. This meant that he needed everyone to kneel, so they are less likely to be spotted. Coulson and Trip instantly kneel down, with Simmons and Skye quickly mimicking them. Jaxx then looks at Coulson behind him, and performed a string of hand signals. Coulson nodded giving Jaxx the go ahead.)

(He looks forward and slowly quietly forward while still crouching. He moved aside a few branches out of his way, and found a spot for cover; a tree that had fallen over years prior. Reverting back to his military tactics, Jaxx goes prone and crawls up to the tree. Even with the branches blocking most of the view, Coulson was still able to see as Jaxx slowly peeked over the top of the tree.) What did he find? Hopefully it's what we've been looking for; otherwise, all this trudging through the jungle is good for nothing, except helping me get rid of those last 10 lbs. that I've been aiming to lose.

(Everyone waited for what seemed like days thanks to the blistering heat that had been stalking them since leaving the plane. It was inescapable as sweat dripped from their faces and forehead. Finally, Jaxx lowered back behind the tree for cover; he then turned to the others and jerked his head, letting the others know that it was okay for them to move up.)

Bout time, I don't know how more of this heat the team could take. (Staying crouched, the team moved up, following the same path that Jaxx had leaded. Once everyone joined back up with Jaxx, Coulson lies down behind the same tree as Jaxx. Coulson asks) "Tell me you found it." (Jaxx shrugs and replies sarcastically) "Depends, (Leans up, peeking over the tree.) That what you looking for?"

(Coulson peeks up and over the tree, spotting what Jaxx had found. It was the hidden Hydra base they were looking for, built into a giant dirt mound, mostly hidden by the vines and overgrown tree branches. He leans back down, looks at the team and states) "It's what we've been looking for." (Trip asks) "What now sir? Do we go in guns blazing, or do we sneak in the back way?"

(Coulson looks at Trip and replies) "Well, if they saw our landing then the element of surprise is out the window, but we can't risk a firefight with Dr. Streiten as their hostage. Trip, you and Skye see if you can find another way in, while me, Simmons and-" (Skye interjects) "Where is Jaxx?" He's right- (Looks over to his right, only to see dirt and some crumpled leaves and broken twigs.) Crap.

(Coulson and peek over the tree, looking around for their suddenly missing comrade. They see nothing, he is nowhere to be found, that is until from behind them they hear some branches rustling. Trip and Coulson immediately aim the AR's, their fingers ready to squeeze the triggers when—Jaxx suddenly springs forth, as if he was part of the forest.) Sonuva-, (They lower their guns and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Everyone except Simmons, who slaps Jaxx on the arm and whispers angrily) "What is the matter with you!? Are trying to give us a fright?"

(He gave her a somewhat annoyed glance; a split-second later Skye slaps his other arm and whispers.) "Yeah, jerk." (Jaxx was now giving Skye an annoyed look. After a few seconds, Jaxx looks at Coulson and states) "It's all clear. There are no guards, no cameras, no mines, nothing." That can't be right. (Trip states) "That doesn't track; I mean all the Intel points to this being an active Hydra base. Why would they just abandon it all of a sudden?"

Unless, they didn't; (Coulson poses the question) "Something is off. I can feel it." (Skye looks over and asks) "You think it's a trap don't you?" Yes, yes I do. (Coulson replies) "With Hydra, it's more than likely. But they would know that we would know, so why go through all the trouble?" (Simmons speaks) "Maybe they were waiting to see if you or Skye were going to show? After all you two are the only ones left with the original GH serum in your blood."

It makes sense, a lot of sense actually. (Jaxx shakes his head, stating) "Or, none of the above." (Everyone gave Jaxx a look of confusion, but he continued stating grimly.) "There's something you all need to see." (Everyone looks at Jaxx, who simply looks back at them with a stern, cold stare.) That's never a good sign. (They slowly stand up and follow Jaxx as he led them down the side of a hill, which lead to a man-made dirt road.)

(The road itself led to the front of Hydra's base, which looked more massive than from what they had seen. Jaxx looked behind him, at the team, still sporting the grim look he had before. He jerked his head towards the old wooden gate, which was covered in old rusted barb wire. When they saw it for the first time, most recognized the construction from old WWII documentaries. It was same construction that the Germans used for their prison and concentration camps.)

(Coulson, like the others, detested the site of this, but he put it aside, for the sake of the mission. Jaxx walked ahead a few feet, and after a slight hesitation, the rest followed. When he got to the gate, he stopped and waited for the others. Once they arrived, he gripped the already open gate and pushed it open. The rusted hinges creaked as the gate slowly opened, revealing a sight that the team had yet to see.)

Holy crap. This place…what the hell happened here? (Coulson took a couple steps forward, and looked around in shock and amazement at the carnage before him. As he looked at the turned over black-colored military vehicles, some of which were literally torn apart from the wheels on up. Everyone cautiously moved forward, with Trip gripping his AR tight.)

(Skye was possibly the most shocked out of everyone as she looked around at the destruction. Slowly stepping forward she feels her foot hit something; when she looks down she sees an assault rifle, much like the ones that Trip and Coulson are carrying. But there was something very different, very wrong with this particular gun so much that she said) "Coulson…" (He spins around and watches as she kneels down picking up the weapon.)

(Standing back up, everyone turned to see her holding the weapon; one which had nearly bent in half, and the barrel twisted like a pretzel. She felt something sticky and cold on the grip, and when she turned her hand and looked; she saw only blood, not hers, but that of the weapons' previous owner.)

(This was unexpected, but the look of grim horror on her face was not. She quickly dropped the gun, but she soon realized that her other hand was covered in blood as well. Everyone watched as she looked up at Coulson, saying) "AC, I don't think Hydra just up and left," (Coulson replied grimly) "Not alive, anyway."

 **Simmons**

Oh dear, Skye. (Simmons rushes over to her friend and sets her briefcase down so that she could swing her backpack around. She unzips, and reaches inside; pulling out a few alcohols wipes, she sets the backpack down and begins helping Skye wipe the blood off her hands.)

(Skye says) "Thanks Simmons." No problem at t'all. (Simmons humor-ly replies) "Well, we could very well have you running around with your hands all bloody now could we?" (Skye looks at Simmons and appears un-amused.) I guess my humor still needs a bit of work. Regardless, (Simmons picks kneels down and zips up her backpack; she slips her arms through the straps, but before she could stand she notices something eerie.)

That is a lot of blood. (Slowly she rose to her feet, but continued to stare at the small blood pool which lingered just mere inches away. Skye finished cleaning her hands, tossing away the blood soaked wipes. That's when she too noticed the pool, which is when she said) "Crap, that's a lot of blood." Indeed, but-(Simmons wasn't a field doctor, but she knew a thing or two about blood; she mumbles) "But where's the body?" (The two share a look, one that expressed concern over the current circumstance.)

(Both look back down and this time spotted a blood trail leading away from the pool. Their eyes slowly follows the trail, meanwhile Jaxx slowly walks alongside, only to stop at the entrance. Trip walks over to the Simmons and Skye with Coulson joining them shortly after. Unsure of what transpired, Trip did realize one thing, and stated) "It's like, someone, or something, dragged him off; in there."

(Jaxx looks off to the side of the entrance and finds something large and metal. He kneels down, slowly lifting it up and discovers something else unexpected. He looks behind him at the others, and shouts) "Hey *whistles*." (Everyone's now had their turned attention to Jaxx, curious as to what he had discovered they walked over. He looked back at the metal object and lifted until it rested against the wall.) Bloody hell…

(No one was un-fazed by what they were seeing. Coulson leans in for a closely, looking at the fist-sized impressions that riddled the metal object. Coulson leans back, looking even more concerned than he was before the mission started.)

(Simmons on the other hand, was frightened, but at the same time curious. After taking a couple steps she kneels down in front it, and reaches out, slowly and gently letting her fingers wash over on one of the fist imprints.) What in god's name have they done? (Coulson looks at Simmons and asks) "How bad is it? Don't sugar-coat it." Well, it's far from good sir.

(She retracts her hand, looks up at her friends and states reluctantly) "It's bad sir. From the depth of these imprints, I'd say that whoever or, whatever did this, according to my calculations; could possibly be as strong as Thor." (Both Jaxx and Simmons stand up, looking at the subtle look of concern on Trip and Skyes' faces.)

 **Trip**

Ah man, I really, really don't want to fight someone as strong as Thor today. (Jaxx shakes his head and humor-ly states) "Look, I really don't wanna fight Diet Thor, I mean I will. But I really don't want to." I know how you feel man. (Coulson looks over at Jaxx, and responds with) "The plan hasn't changed. We go in, get Streiten, disable the generator, and get out, hopefully (He looks over at Trip and Skye.) without any trouble."

Without any trouble…yeah…you do know that we're fighting Hydra right? Besides, is it too much to ask that whatever caused all this, just simply ran off? (Skye reaches behind her and pulls out her pistol, pulling back the slide. Coulson pulls back the slide on his AR, as does Trip who looks over at Coulson and says) "Ready when you are sir." (Coulson looks over at Skye, who simply nods her readiness. He looks over at Jaxx, who nods and unclips the strap from his P90.)

(Simmons hesitates, but soon, she too reaches behind her, pulling out her pistol and gripping it with both hands. She looks up at the others, looking a bit more nervous than previously. Coulson told everyone) "Jaxx, keep taking point, Trip you'll cover the rear and you two (Looks at Skye then back at Simmons) stay behind me. Everyone got it?" (Skye replies) "Got ya AC." (He looks at Trip,) It's not like we got any other options. (Trip nods and replies) "Understood."

(He didn't need to, but he looked at Jaxx anyway who simply smirked and said) "Just waiting on you all."

The plan itself was simple enough, but Coulson knew all too well that it's never as simple as you planned it. This mission has been one of the more difficult missions of late, and it wasn't about to get any easier. Everyone knew this, and yet they still push forward, not because they want to, or have to; it was because they needed to, for they were the only ones in the position to do anything. So, they readied themselves, checking safeties on their weapons, getting in position.

Jaxx took his position with his gun at the ready, focusing his mind and reflexes to be as sharp as a scalpel. He had been in dire situations before, hell, it was his job and yet; he was nervous, about what they would find inside, or what would find them. Looking into the gaping dark entrance, he saw no signs of life or any kind of light source to be had; all that could been seen from the light of the sun was a few feet of concrete walls and flooring.

Common sense soon kicked in and he looked down at his ballistic vest, grabbing the flap of one of the pouches. The sound of Velcro echoed against the concrete walls as he flipped opened the pouch, pulling out a mini flashlight. As he finished attaching it to the under barrel of his P90, he turned to the others, waiting for the go ahead. Coulson looked behind at his squad mates, which is when his mind started flashing back to when he first met them. These people, to him, were his responsibility and he would do whatever it takes to see them make it safely back home.

As he stared into their eyes and they into his, no words needed to be spoken, instead, they simply nodded their trust in him. Coulson wasn't sure who or what they were going to find in there, or even what was waiting for them. He was however, sure that no matter what, no one else will die here today; he told himself over and over again in his mind that no one here will die today. With that in mind, he looked back at Jaxx, nodded and simply said "Let's get it done."

Jaxx nodded in agreement after which he looked back at the entrance and into the seemingly endless black abyss hidden within. His grip tightens, so much so that he was almost afraid that he would break it in two. Yet his heart rate was slow, steady, almost as if he has done this many times before, but that was not the case. What few people know about Jaxx is that he is rarely afraid of anything, even as a kid he was never really afraid of anything; not the dark, not of monsters in his closet or under his bed.

Nothing ever frightened him; however, what he was hiding from the rest of the group was the fact that at this very moment he was afraid. Something instead of him screamed at him, telling him that there is something in there, waiting for them to enter. He was afraid, because he wasn't truly certain that he could get everyone through this safely, or alive. As he shined the light into the darkness, revealing a long dark corridor, he had to push that all aside, not for the sake of the mission, but in order to keep his nerves in check.

He needed his nerves in check otherwise his other secret would be revealed, and he knew there was a time and a place to reveal it, but this place wasn't it. As he stepped inside the corridor he paced himself, remembering his Marine Corps training. His footsteps were slow and steady, so much so that he rarely made a sound. After walking ahead a few feet Coulson and company followed his lead, taking it nice and slow.

 **3 ½ minutes later**

The steady trail of blood gave them a general path to follow, even if it was an ominous one. Regardless Coulson thought that they were making good time, but had little to show for it. With a corner up ahead, everyone hugs the wall behind them, slowly walking forward. Once at the corner, Jaxx kneels down and peeks around the corner and finds a security station. He leaned back and looked up at Coulson; he quietly signals the Director of what was up ahead, who acknowledges it by nodding.

Jaxx looked back and readied himself; within mere seconds he had turned the corner, and silently sprinted down to the station. He hugged the wall as he drew closer to it until he was finally at the door. Switching shooting hands, he slowly reached out, grabbing the door handle. He took a deep breath, and quickly turned the handle, swinging the door open with enough force that it nearly broke off its hinges.

At the same time the door was swinging open, he quickly breached, ready to take out any hostiles in sight. Fortunately there were none, unfortunately what he found was much, much worse.

 **Jaxx**

Damn…what a mess. (He lowered his weapon as he looked on, paying close attention to the blood bath before him. The room itself is riddled with blood, security monitors showing nothing but static and white noise and chairs flipped on their sides drenched in blood and what little remains was left of the victims. The single light, a lamp that had fallen over in the struggle, had started flickering on and off.)

(Jaxx walked inside and started mentally processing the scene.) The bodies are gone, (He looked down at the ground and spotted yet another blood trail leading out of the security station.) Dragged off, just like the ones outside. (He turned and took a closer look at the chairs, paying close attention to some sort of bloodied piece stuck on the back of the chair. He knelt down to pick it up, after which he dangles it in front of him.) Someone's missing a piece of their scalp.

(He lowered the bloodied scalp, dropping it on the ground which caused it to make splat-type noise. Quickly he stood back up, and continued looking around for any more clues as to what had happened here. All he found was nothing but blood flinged all over and most of the computer consoles broken or ripped to shreds. There was one thing that Jaxx knew for certain,) Whatever did this, was quick, strong, and seriously pissed off.

(It was time that he notified Coulson and team of what he had found so, he turned and walked out of the room and signaled the team to move up. It took them less than 4 seconds to meet up with him and of course they had answers for him. Coulson was the first to respond with a query) "What did you find? Did you find anything on Streiten?" Well, should I tell him the bad news or the really bad news first?

(He took a breath, and replied) "No Streiten, that's the good news, but…" I'm not sure if anyone needs to see. (Coulson knew what was coming next, which is why he understood why Jaxx was hesitant to tell him. Regardless of how bad the news was, he still needed to know, so he said rhetorically knowing the answer) "Do I even want to know?" No, you really don't, but knowing you, you'll want to know regardless. Guess it'd be better to show him.

(Jaxx stepped off to the side, giving Coulson a chance to see the gruesome scene that he saw. Coulson took a few steps forward before Jaxx grabbed his arm, which caught the Director's attention. Jaxx looked him in the eyes, giving him a somewhat concerning look and whispered to him) "It's not a pretty sight, just so you know." (Coulson stared back and replied) "It never is."

Reluctantly Jaxx let Coulson's arm go, and the Director braced himself as he took a look inside the security office. He recognized the chaotic mess and it seemed logical, to him at least, that whatever caused the destruction outside also caused carnage here. Fury trained him to compartmentalize, to keep his emotions in check during the mission, but Coulson couldn't. As the horrific nature of the scene started sinking in, Coulson found it hard to concentrate because he knew…

 **Coulson**

This is bad…really, really bad. (He looked around and started mentally photographing the scene. While he did this the rest of the team joined Jaxx at the doorway and were each equally horrified by the scene. Simmons gasps in horror) "My god." (He turns and glances at his team, seeing only looks of terror and concern plastered on their faces.) I wish my team didn't have to deal with…this, but it comes with the job. Unfortunately that hasn't changed.

(Skye scans the room, and while doing so she retorts) "Is anyone else starting to feel like we're in a horror movie?" (They didn't need to say a word, because she already knew the answer. Coulson meanwhile, continued looking around, with Jaxx and the others soon joining him in the room. Jaxx walks over to Coulson, who shakes his head; he morbidly looks at all the blood splattered on the floors and the walls and says) "What could've done this?"

(Coulson looks over at Jaxx, who stands shaking his head, and then replies) "No clue. But whatever did this was fast, strong, and really pissed off." Right, I shouldn't have asked. (Coulson saw the monitors in front of him were still on, the screens flickering. He then asks Jaxx) "How long ago did this happen?" (He looked at Jaxx who replied) "No more than 2 maybe 3 hours ago."

Great, so whatever did this is most likely still here, in this facility, with us…perfect. (Coulson looks back at the flickering monitors and that's when he spotted the keyboard, bloodied, but still intact.) Maybe Skye could do her thing and find us something to go on. (He turns to the resident hacker, and asks) "Skye…" (She seemed a little startled, but quickly recovered, and Coulson continued) "I need you to-" (Skye interjects) "Pull up any videos from the last few hours, got it AC."

(Skye quickly walks over to the security terminal that's still intact, and before she could begin, she hesitates. Seeing that some of the keys on the keyboard were covered in blood caused her coil a bit. Jaxx noticed this, so he turned to Simmons and asked for a pair of disposable gloves. Simmons reaches into her medical bag and pulls out a pair, handing them to him. He in turn, walks over to Skye and taps her on the shoulder. She turns, and he hands her the gloves, giving her a smirk.)

 **Skye**

"Thanks." (Skye says, taking the gloves and slipping them on.) You're such a gentleman. Now then, time to get to work. *Cracks her knuckles* (As soon as her fingers touched the keys, she was off, trying to find anything that could help them with their current circumstance.) C'mon, c'mon, give me something you ancient piece of- (Suddenly her mind goes quiet, as she manages to pull up the schematics for the facility. She then whispers to herself) "Bingo, *glances at Coulson* got something AC."

(Coulson and Jaxx lean in for a closer look. Coulson states) "Building schematics, nice work Skye." Thanks AC. (Jaxx looks closely at the schematic and points to the screen; more specifically) "There, the medical wing. *retracts his hand* it's most likely where he is." Maybe, but…there's something off… (Coulson now points to screen, only he points to a different part and states) "There, a Bio-Genetics lab; it could also be where they're keeping him."

(Skye's thought's immediately rushed towards a frightening conclusion. She leans up from the computer and states reluctantly.) Or it could be where this whole cluster-fuck started. Let's hope I'm wrong. (Simmons overheard, and perked up when she heard Coulson say Bio-Genetics lab. She walked over to them, with Trip quickly following behind. Her eyes nervously shoot from one person to another, before stating that) "Sir, it is also possible that it's where Hydra is keeping their samples of the GH serum."

She's totally right. (Trip looks over at Coulson and states) "She's right sir. If it's there then we gotta take care of it, otherwise-" (Skye interrupts) "We'd have a whole army of psycho Garrett's that we'd have to deal with." I do not want to deal with that crap again. Never, ever again. (Coulson thought a moment, afterwards he came up with a plan and told the team) "Okay then. Two teams. Trip and Simmons you take the Bio-lab, meanwhile me, Skye, and Jaxx will take Medical." Yea sure, let's split up 'cause that always works out so well for Scooby Doo gang.

(Jaxx walks over to the doorway and looks out into the corridor. Coulson readjusted his rifle, and looks at his team, simply saying.) "No matter what, we meet back here in 15 minutes, understood?" (Trip and Simmons reply) "Yes sir." (Skye nods, and replies) "Understood." (Coulson nods and says) "Good. Then let's get it done." (Everyone stands behind Jaxx, who leans back in from the corridor. He looks back, waiting for his orders; Coulson looks forward and nods, which was all he needed and soon they were back out in the dank, dark corridor.)

(The team follows Jaxx down the corridor, where the only light came from Trip and Coulson's under mount. Jaxx's light barely lit what was in front of him, and soon he came to a dead-end; he looked to his left and saw a hallway, another to his right. The team took a closer look at the wall, which had faded writing. Coulson tried, but he was unable to recognize the writing, so he turned to the team and asked) "I don't suppose anyone knows what this says?"

(He shines his light on the writings, which only faded the writing even further.) Sorry AC, I don't speak, whatever that is. (Jaxx says) "It says Medical wing to the left, Science hall to the right." (Everyone looks at Jaxx, appearing just a little shocked. He felt their eyes on him, so he turned only to see them staring. He shrugged and said) "What? It's German." Huh, (Skye says sarcastically) "Why am I not surprised that you know German?"

(He simply stares at her, grinning and replies smugly) "I'm surprised you don't, I mean this is Hydra after all." I hadn't noticed, thank you so much for reminding me. Now then, can we move this along to a less creepy area please? (Coulson looks at agent Triplett and agent Simmons and says) "Trip, Simmons you take the left; Jaxx, Skye, and I will take the right." (Both Trip and Simmons nod, and reply) "Yes sir."

(Just as they passed by Skye, Coulson caught their attention and stated) "Remember, no matter, we meet back here in 15 minutes. Got it?" (Trip nods once more and replies) "Got it, sir." (Coulson looks at Simmons who responds by saying) "Understood sir. We'll be here." (Coulson looked somewhat worried, like he was unsure about splitting up the team while in hostile territory. Unfortunately it was necessary, but that didn't make him worry any less.)

(Coulson said) "Keep your eyes open and be careful. We don't know what's waiting for us." (Trip and Simmons say nothing, knowing all too well what might be waiting for them. They simply nodded and went off down the corridor to the left; heading down towards the Medical Wing. Simmons stuck close to Trip who took point, shining his flashlight under-mount down the hall.)

(Coulson was now taking point, followed by Jaxx and Skye, who watched as Trip and Simmons turn the corner. Seconds later there was no light, just darkness which made Skye even more nervous, mostly for her friends safety.) There they go…be safe guys. (Jaxx walks up next to Skye; he looks at her and her at him, after which he replies) "Don't worry, they'll be fine. But we gotta go." Yea I know, but still; I don't like splitting up especially with…whatever attacked Hydra roaming around in here…with us.

 **4 minutes later**

 **Skye**

Coulson wasn't taking any chances, which is probably why he took the lead which was normally Jaxx's thing. I mean I get it; he's being overly cautious because of where we are and what could be waiting for us. Freakin Hydra, it's their fault that we're even here. I mean they experimented on innocent people, all so they could somehow recreate the original GH serum to create their own personal Super-Nazi army.

And just like every single horror movie, they're experiment went haywire and got loose and now we have to deal with it. Thanks a lot…freaking Hydra man. I'm not sure if there is anyone left alive down here, I just don't want to end up like- (Coulson stops, and whispers) "Hold up!" (It was so sudden that Skye nearly bumped into the Director.) Crap! Give a lil more warning next time AC.

(Coulson had spotted a door up ahead, which is why he stopped. The light inside was still on, which is why he wanted to take certain precautions. He clicked off his flashlight, as did Jaxx and all 3 quietly moved up towards the door. The door itself was cracked opened just a hair, this meant that there was a possibility that someone was inside.)

(Coulson looked back at Skye and Jaxx, who also saw that the door was left open. The Director looked back and tried to peek through the door,) Okay Skye, (She looks down at her gun, and clicks off the safety then looks back at the door.) just like May said, just breathe. (Skye inhales deeply and slowly exhales. Coulson leans back, and looks at Jaxx and mouths) "Ready up." Could you repeat that, for those of us that can't read lips?

(Jaxx quietly shuffles to the front of the door, his weapon at the ready. He looks at Coulson and nods, signaling that he's ready to breach; Coulson places his hand on the door and started counting down.) "*mouths* 3…2…1…GO!" (Coulson pushes on the door, and as it flew open Jaxx rushed his way into the room. Once in he quickly scanned the room for any potential hostiles; a quick minute later he shouted) "Clear."

(Skye was relieved as was Coulson, who walked into the room, followed by Skye. Jaxx turned to the others and stated) "There's no sign of Dr. Streiten, or anyone else for that matter." (The room was disorganized, with papers thrown on the floor, test tubes spilled out on tables, broken glass on the floor.) Jeez, maybe Hydra should invest in a maid. I wonder who, or what did this?

(Coulson turned to his team and said) "Take a look around. Maybe there's something here about Streiten or the serum." (Skye and Jaxx nod as the team splits up, looking for any clue to point them in the right direction. Jaxx found some filing cabinets and started shuffling through the file one by one. Coulson knelt down to pick up some of the papers that were scattered about. Skye looked around and found a computer that was still in pretty decent shape.) Here we go.

(Skye picked up a stool which had fallen over and sat it upright. Afterwards she took a seat and went to work, hacking her way through the computer's security and firewall. She intensely focused, as her fingers seemingly flowed over the keys. After only a minute she was in the facility's database.) Okay let's see here…recent entries. Let's see what you've been up to Hydra.

(She clicked on the recent entries and found a list of five mpeg video files. She held off on playing it,) I think that maybe Jaxx and AC would like to see this. (She shouted at Coulson and Jaxx) "Hey guys, come check this out." (The two stopped what they were doing and shuffled over to her, Coulson standing on one side with Jaxx on the other. Coulson squinted at the screen and asked) "What did you find Skye?"

Maybe something, maybe nothing (Skye places her hand on the mouse and replies) "It's the video entry log; figured it might shed some light on what they were working on or what happened here." (Coulson agreed and responded by saying) "Play it." Okay, here we go… (Skye taps the ENTER key which started buffering the first video. Seconds later the video finally loads up, but all that it shows is a black screen.)

What the… (Suddenly the video begins and starts off with a woman dressed in doctor garb turning on the camera. She adjusts the lens causing the video to blur for a bit before the resolution became clear again. She sat down on a stool across from the camera, and started to adjust her badge when another screen pops up on the video. On that screen was a man well dressed in a suit and tie; his hair was black and combed back while he himself looked ever the villain.)

(The man, with a British accent spoke to the doctor.) " _Doctor…_ " (The woman, who was apparently a doctor of some kind, nodded and replied) " _Sir, it's a pleasure._ " (The man nodded before replying) " _I'm sure it 'tis, now then onto business. Is everything progressing on schedule?_ " (The doctor nodded and stated) " _Yes sir, it took quite a bit of doing but we managed get this facility up and running…installing the newest upgrades and systems will be completed within the hour sir."_

(The man seemed pleased as a subtle smile streaked across his face as he replied) " _Well then, you should be proud of what you've managed to accomplish in such a small period of time, doctor."_ (Now the doctor was pleased, as a grin smeared across her face during which she replied) " _Thank you very much sir. And I assure you, that once we have the GH serum within our possession, we will be able to reproduce it on a massive scale within a few days._ "

(The well-kept man was no longer smiling; instead he looked somewhat grim, which could be heard as he told her sternly) " _There has been a complication in regards to the serum I'm afraid._ " (The doctor seemed confused and so she curiously asked) " _What sort of complication, sir?_ " (The man replied simply)" _We no longer have the GH.325 in our possession._ " (The doctor seemed distraught, which caused her to ask) " _What…how did that happen?_ " (The man closed his eyes, shook his head and replied) " _John Garrett happened, luckily thanks in part to the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D., he will no longer be a problem._

(The doctor placed her hand over her mouth, and looked away from the camera. The man continued staring, as if waiting for a response and when it appeared that she was not going to give one, he stated.) " _Don't be so distraught doctor; we do have a consolation prize._ " (The doctor looked back up at the camera, still a little distraught, but also curious. He replied) " _We're sending over some blood samples that are of interest._ " (The doctor was even more curious than before which lead to repeating) " _Blood samples, sir?_ "

(The man adjusts himself and leans in towards the camera only to say) " _Yes doctor, blood samples. See what you can make of them, but be very careful. Those samples are worth more to Hydra than you and you're associates. Understood?_ " (The doctor seemed taken aback by the man's veiled threat. Regardless the doctor nodded, and the man smiled once more and stated) " _Very good, I'll contact you in 3 days for a progress report, 'til then remember…compliance will be rewarded._ "

(The video stops there, which left the team with little answers and ever-more questions. Skye leaned back from the screen, a little flabbergasted by what she just saw.) Wow, okay…well I'm guessing that one of those blood samples must've been Garrett, after he went all psycho on everyone, but the other sample; who does it belong to, I mean the only other people who were injected with that crap was me and AC. (Coulson leaned in and pointed to the screen, and told her) "Skye, click on the next file; I wanna know what they've found in those samples." Okay, here goes.

(Skye exited out of the one screen and clicked on the next file which was also a video file, but there was something else also. She ignored it for now, continuing to instead play the video. Once more a screen pops up and the video starts to buffer; seconds later it plays, and once again it was a video call between the two from before. The mystery man speaks first) " _Hello again doctor,_ "(The doctor looked up from the papers which riddled her desk, looking a little spooked, but she tried not to show it as she said.) " _Oh uh, hello again sir; you look well sir._ " (The man did not react to the flattery; instead he stayed focus on task and asked her) " _I'm not calling for your attempt at flattery doctor; I want your progress report on those blood samples we sent you. It is a matter of great urgency for the Heads of Hydra._ "

(After a few seconds she fumbling shuffled her papers together, and looked back up at the camera and replied) "*stammering* _I uh…yes sir um about that…we have analyzed the samples thoroughly and we, uh…found something strange sir._ " (The man seemed confused with the doctors' answer. He said) " _That is not very scientific doctor…Define, strange._ " (The doctor seemed hesitant, even afraid to answer, but it was like she was forced to comply and say) " _Well, at first glance neither sample showed anything out of the ordinary, but upon closer examination, we noticed that there were nano-scopic crystalized cells within the white blood cells of sample JG-325._ "

" _These nano-cells could explain how a subject could seemingly be brought back to life,_ " (Coulson's eyes widened, as his mind began to wander. Skye and Jaxx looked up from the screen to see the shocked, concerned look on Coulson's face.) AC doesn't look so good, and I know how he feels. That same stuff is inside of me…I just hope I don't go all crazy-psychotic-trying to take over the world like Garrett did. That would suck.

(Everyone looks back at the screen except for Jaxx who noticed a trail of blood leading towards another door at the back of the room. Slowly he followed it, nice and quietly as the others continued to watch the video. Now the man seemed intrigued by the doctor's hypothesis and stated) " _Interesting doctor, tell me; are you able to extract these nano-cells and therefore replicate them?_ " (The doctor seemed eager, so she stated) " _We're already in the process of extracting the cells, we'll be able to see within the hour if replication is possible sir._ " (The man didn't show it, but he was indeed thrilled by the news. He replied simply) " _Make it so doctor and remember, Hydra does not take kindly to failure; are we understood?_ "

(The doctor became somewhat frightened by the man's not-so-veiled threat, causing her to gulp like a scared child and reply) " _Understood sir…_ " (The video ends there, leaving both Skye and Coulson wondering. After a few moments they finally noticed that Jaxx was no longer standing beside them. Both turned around and saw Jaxx kneeling next to another doorway, staring at something on the frame.)

(Unable to make out what it was exactly, Coulson walked over to him and Skye quickly followed him. Once there Jaxx looked up from the spot on the door; Coulson shined his light on the spot and saw shiny red print. Everyone knew what it was; a bloody hand print most likely left behind by one of the Hydra scientists. But that was of little comfort to Skye, who was naturally more nervous now than she was before.)

Well, that is definitely not good. I guess it'd be too much to ask for that just to be a fresh coat of red paint, huh? (Jaxx stands up, turns to the two and states) "It's definitely blood, and fresh from the looks of it." Crap, I mean seriously; is it too much to ask that we not be in a horror movie right now? This mission totally blows…

(Jaxx turns towards the doorway, clicks on his flashlight and shines it into the corridor beyond. He then looked back at them and said) "I'm gonna check it out. I'll be back in 5." WHAT! Are you kidding me!? You never go check out the creepy hallway by yourself, that's like rule #1 in horror movies. (Skye seemed a little panicked by the idea, so she whispered frantically) "Hold on a sec…now I know that your some sort of badass like May, but you seriously can't be thinking of going out there by yourself?"

Because that means you're either a real badass or completely bat-shit crazy. (Jaxx glances at Coulson briefly before looking back at her and replies) "I was kind've thinking 'bout it, yea." Okay then, he must be bat-shit crazy. (She states) "Have you ever seen a horror movie? You never ever go check out the dark, creepy hallway or say that you'll be back because let's face it, ya won't."

(She looks over glances back and forth between Jaxx and Coulson.) Surely I'm not the only one who thinks that, I mean AC c'mon… (She says as she looks at Coulson) "You agree with that this is a really bad plan, right AC?" (Coulson replies simply) "On the whole horror movie reference, no not really (Looks at Jaxx) but the part where you go running off by yourself while in enemy territory, most definitely."

Ha, called it! (Jaxx lets out disapproving sigh, then replies with) "Is it a stupid plan, yes, is it most likely a trap, I wouldn't doubt it. But we have to face facts; unless we shut off the stasis generator, which we have yet to find by the way, then we are going nowhere fast. And on top of that we still haven't found Dr. Streiten, which as you said is a top priority."

(Jaxx continues) "That's why I'm gonna see where this leads, and hopefully find the generator in the process." I understand the situation Jaxx, believe me, but you have no idea who or what could be waiting for you which is why you shouldn't go alone. (Skye says) "Look I'm not saying it's a stupid plan, I'm just saying it's stupid for you to go out there alone… (Turns and looks at Coulson) Right AC?"

(Coulson looked at Skye, then at Jaxx and replied) "She's right; you can't go out there by yourself." Yea, it's better to stick together, which leaves less of a chance of getting mauled by whatever tore up ol' Hydra here. (Jaxx shakes his head and replies) "There's no other choice besides, I can handle myself," that is so not the-(Jaxx continues) "And you two need to figure out what the hell Hydra was working on…" (He looks over to his right at an unlocked cage, inside there was only two radios left.)

(He took one while handing the other to Coulson, and then he turned his on and says) "Here, I'll radio in if I find anything, okay?" (Skye still looks displeased with Jaxx, and stated as much) "No, it's not okay. We shouldn't split up, not until we know exactly where either-" (A clanking sound came from out in the corridor, which caught everyone's attention. Jaxx and the others looked out into the hallway; Jaxx and Coulson clicked on their flashlights and aimed down the corridor.)

(They saw nothing, just that the corridor splits off and to the right.) What in the hell was that? On second thought I'm not really sure that I want to know. (Jaxx turned to the others, looking determined and said) "I'm gonna check it out." ARE YOU SERIOUS! (Skye looks at him and whispers sternly) "Are you freakin kidding me!? You have no idea what the hell is out there." (Jaxx looked at her and replied) "Not no idea, just not much of one and besides someone has to check it out, and unless you're volunteering…"

Aww hell to the no. That is not going to happen. (Skye replies sarcastically) "No I'm good, but if you want to investigate the creepy noise that came from the dark hallway, be my guest. Just don't come complaining to me when you end up with a machete in your face." Because if that happens I'm soooo out of here. (Though he was amused by the off-topic conversation, Coulson was still wary of Jaxx's plan to go off on his own, but he also knew that there was little choice in the matter.)

(Coulson turned on his radio, and looked at Jaxx and stated) "We'll be on channel 1. Radio in if you find anything no matter how small or insignificant got it?" (Jaxx said nothing, he simply nodded. After which Coulson continued saying) "And I want updates every 5 minutes, no exceptions. And lastly, don't get killed…I don't want Simmons to go all Rambo on me, you got that?"

(Once more Jaxx nodded, showing that he agreed to Coulson's terms. He then stepped out into the hallway, aiming his P90 and its flashlight down the corridor. He looked back over at Coulson and Skye, shooting them a grin he said) "I'll see you in 10." (And he was off to find only god knows what, but Coulson couldn't think about that, not right now. He needed to focus, and Skye to focus as well, because he wanted to know what was on the other video-cons between the doctor and this mysterious man.)

(Coulson turned to Skye who was still staring at the doorway, and said) "He'll be fine Skye. He's one of the toughest guys I know and believe me I know." Yea, well if that's true then why do I have this bad feeling down in my gut? (She continued staring at the doorway, but her eyes drifted down to the blood-marked handprint which seemingly grasped the doorframe. Coulson saw this and placed his hand gently on her shoulder, which caused her to look up at him instead.) (He replied, in a soft tone) "Let's see what's on those other files, okay?" Yeah sure, I mean it's not like today can get any worse…right?

 **4 minutes earlier; Corridor to Medical Wing**

 **Agent Triplett and Agent Simmons**

As with the others, they had yet to find anything leading to either the Stasis Generator or to Dr. Streiten. The only thing that agent Triplett and Simmons were able to find so far was a few rooms which had been ransacked, most likely by whatever attacked Hydra outside the base. Yet they were determined to push forward, though the two had different reasons. Triplett was simply following orders, with the hopes that this whole GH serum-nightmare would end here, before Hydra used it for nefarious purposes. Simmons however, she was determined to find any research that Hydra might have left behind; hoping beyond hope that she could somehow reverse engineer the serum and use it to save the person very dear to her.

Of course, the others think that this serum or any other like it is too dangerous to be held by either Hydra or S.H. .D., and should be destroyed. But Simmons would not be swayed from her own personal mission, no matter the cost. For right now however, both their concerns were on finding the medical area, hoping that Dr. Streiten is hiding out there or is at least alive.

 **Triplett**

(He aims his rifle, and with it the flashlight on the under barrel, down the corridor. He slowly sweeps the rifle from left to right, making sure that there was nothing hidden in the dark that could surprise them. Simmons followed closely, almost to the point of hugging Trip's back, which he wouldn't really mind. As he looked onward down the corridor, he couldn't help but think…) Man, between the scene outside and the creepiness of this place, I'm starting to feel like I'm in a Wes Craven horror flick.

Why couldn't Hydra build their secret facility near a beach or a resort or something; somewhere with a little more lighting. (They were coming close to the end of the corridor, and with that Trip quickly rushed over to the adjacent wall. Simmons followed his movements and in the process bumped into his arm. He glanced at her for a split-second then looked back ahead of him. He took his time as he slowly shimmied towards the corner; once there he took a couple of deep breaths and told himself…) You got this man, you got this.

(He quickly turned the corner and aimed his rifle down the new corridor, all in one fluid motion. Aside from spotting a door midway down, it appeared clear of any hostiles, but even so; there was something wrong, and Trip knew it.) There's something off here, but what… (Fearing for her safety, his eyes glanced to his left at Simmons and he whispered to her…) "Simmons, stay close; don't wander off okay?" I don't want to freak her out, but it's just…this whole thing is just… (Simmons put on a brave front, but underneath she was growing ever-more frightened.)

(But his comment about her potentially wandering off agitated her, so she sarcastically replies…) "Seriously Trip, what possible reason could I have to wander of in a place like this, hmmm?" Okay, I was just saying…you know what, never mind, just let it go Trip. (He looks back down the corridor, focusing on the door just a few feet ahead. Taking in a deep breathe, he quickly rushed over towards the door; once there he trained his rifle on the door. He saw that there was some sort of light source still on in the room, from the way it shined underneath the bottom of the door.)

(Simmons continued following Trip closely, keeping a mere few inches between them. Trip looked back at her and even in the dark he could tell how nervous and frighten she was.) Don't worry girl, I'll keep you safe…always. (He looked down at the doorknob and reaches out for it, gripping it tightly. Slowly he turned it until it made a clicking sound,) 3…2…1 (He pulled, swinging the door open and he rushed in.)

(Simmons waited outside as he quickly swept the area, quickly and efficiently checking the area for any threats. After a few minutes it was apparent to him that the area was clear. He signaled Simmons, stating) "It's clear. Come on in." (She entered the room, which seemed in less-disarray than the ones before, not pristine, but not a disaster either; the good news was that the some of the lights were still on.) Still no sign of him, and from the looks of this place; I'm betting that he's either dead or…

 **Simmons**

How unfortunate; there's still no sign of Dr. Streiten even though all evidence points to him being here…somewhere. He has to be here, hopefully alive, but with the condition of the rooms that we've already searched and the carnage left outside *sighs* I highly doubt it. (She slowly started searching the room for any clue as to Dr. Streiten's current whereabouts. Trip turned to her and stated…) "Still no sign of the Streiten." (She looks up briefly, before looking down at some water soaked papers, and replied…) "Yes, I know…its unfortunate, but we can't give up hope now can we?"

(Trip nodded and looked around, shuffling through some papers and not-so-well-kept folders. Simmons did this too, for a while, until she moved on to a computer which was still intact.) Well, here goes nothing… (She presses the power button, hoping that the system still had power. The screen stayed black for a few minutes until it suddenly started up.) Yes, finally something is going our way, (And it was until it came to a log-in screen which popped up a small window which stated _Please scan keycard_.)

(She appeared somewhat frustrated by the fact that the computer needed a security key to unlock it. She muttered…) "Bloody hell," Damnit, of course it wasn't going to be that easy; I should've known. (Trip overheard her mutter, so asked…) "What's Simmons?" (She replies…) "*sighs* Not much apparently… (Trip walks over to her, during which she looks at him and continues saying) The computer is locked out, and we can't override the lock-out without a bloody keycard. UGH, so damn frustrating."

(Trip looks at the screen then back her and says,) "Well, let's look around…maybe we'll get lucky." Lucky? Yeah right… (Simmons shakes her head and subtly throws her arms in the air and replies,) "Yeah, because we've been so lucky thus far…" Wow, that sounded a bit bitchy, which was not my intent, (She looks over at Trip, who briefly glances at her, and she sincerely replies) "Sorry, *sighs* it's just one of those days 'tis all. Days like this make me miss the good ol' days, back at the academy."

(Trip grins and replies,) "I hear you. And I understand Sims, but don't worry, we'll find Dr. Streiten and who knows; maybe we'll get lucky and find a couple samples of the original GH serum and we can use one to save Fitz." (Simmons smiled a bit, and replied somewhat happily,) "Yes that would be-" Wait a minute, did he just- (She quickly turned, giving Trip a look of shock,) How did he figure it out? (Trip could see that Simmons wasn't expecting that response from him, in fact he counted on it; mainly because it confirmed his suspicions on why she really came along.)

(Simmons wasn't sure what to say, which is why she stammered as she tried to say,) "How did you…when did you…" (Trip couldn't help but smile a bit, only because he thought she looked cute when she was flustered. Afterwards he quickly replied,) "I had my suspicions, and I'm sure the others do too." Bloody hell, this is not good, not good at 'tall. Wait a minute… (She was no longer shocked, but instead was now confused as only one thought popped into her head.)

(Simmons stares at Trip, confusingly and he could tell what she wanted to ask, so he responded to her unspoken question,) "You're wondering why he let you come, when he suspected, right?" That's only part of it, the other part… (She shrugged and replied,) "Well, yes actually. I mean, he was so secretive about the serum, especially after we used the serum to save Skye. And let's not forget about how they both were so insistent that we keep our findings into the serum in-house."

(Simmons paused briefly when she realized that where she actually was and that's when it hit her. She continued,) "Although if our current predicament is any indication then they were probably right to keep it in house, but still…they just didn't seem to understand the potential good that could come from it. They only thought about the potential risks involved; as scientists we are asked to push beyond the limitations and explore newer, more efficient possibilities." Okay, calm down ol' girl, there's no need to get riled up over it now.

(Trip understood what she was saying and part of him even agreed with her, but the other part of him couldn't help but see the flaw in her logic. He explained as he walked over to her,) "Look I get it, I do. And without it, both Skye and Coulson would be dead and we wouldn't be here right now cleaning up this mess. Yet here we are. I'm not going to try and convince you of whether you should or shouldn't use the serum to save Fitz, but I will say this."

"Whatever you decide, we're with you…all of us, no matter what happens." Trip…I don't even know what to say except, (Simmons gently grabs his shoulder, and says happily,) "Thank you, Trip." Oh my, I'm starting to well up here, but I can't let him see me cry, certainly not here. (Simmons wipes her eyes with her free hand, trying to keep the tears at bay. Trip couldn't help but smile and he replied,) "C'mon girl, it's not a problem." (She removes her hand from his shoulder and he finished by saying,) "Now, let's see if we can't find that keycard, 'kay?"

Right, we certainly must. (She nodded in agreement and within seconds they had already begun searching the room the elusive keycard. Trip started searching the desk drawers for any sign, while Simmons found some filing cabinets, which she quickly started shuffling through. Every so few files she'd pull out one, glancing through it to see if there was anything that they had missed previously.)

(She made light work searching through the first cabinet and moved on to the next. Trip had already searched 3 of the 5 desks, but found nothing outside of what one would expect; pencils, blank papers, pens and the like soon riddled the floor. He moved over to one desk that had already had its drawers pulled out, knelt down, and looked through the shuffled mess. Once again he found nothing, which only annoyed more that he already was.)

(He thought about moving on, until he looked over only to see Simmons still searching through the cabinets. As he looked away something caught his eye; he leaned in closer towards the desk and that's when he found it. He plucked it from its hidden shadow; it was a book or journal that someone had taped underneath, trying to hide it from someone, or thing. He gently removed the tape still stuck on the cover, and opened it to the first page; there was a name printed on the inside of the cover, a name that he did not recognize, but he thought maybe Simmons would.)

(Trip stands up, looks at Simmons and says) "Sims," (She turns around and sees him holding a book of some kind.) Now what is that? (Trip walks over to her, holding the book in one hand and using the other to swing the rifle around behind him. Once he was next to her he continued,) "It was hidden underneath one of the desks; there's a name on the inside cover," (He hands her the book. She looks at Trip before opening it and looked at the name written on the inside cover.)

(She mumbles the name,) "Dr. Jennifer Goodman…" why does that sound so familiar…c'mon girl think, this is important, all you have to do is-(Trip could see that Simmons was thinking about something, though he didn't know what, so he decided to ask.) "Does the name ring a bell?" (She looks up at him and replies) "It sounds familiar, but I just can't, for the life of me, remember where I heard it."

Maybe there's something inside that could help me identify her. (She looks back at the book and turns to the first two pages. Most of the first couple of pages was filled with theories on how to backwards engineer the GH serum. However as she turned to page 7, that's when it started getting interesting.) Their research, they took a drastic turn and-(Simmons eyes widened, as shock settled on her face. She mumbled,) "Oh my god, I can't believe-"

I barely have the words to describe what I'm seeing, it's just… (Trip had no idea what it was she was reading, but nevertheless he was curious. He asked,) "What is it girl, what did you find?" everything Trip, every horrifying experiment that they've done all so that they could replicate the effects of the GH serum. My god…

(Simmons looks up from the pages, looking just a bit pale. She replied in a fascinated tone,) "It's just…whoever this Dr. Goodman is; she seems to know a lot about the original formula for the GH serum. It's quite remarkable really." Not to mention a bit scary, (Simmons continued,) "I mean I myself only barely understand a fraction some of the chemical compound which make up the serum's composition."

"But somehow, she's was able to map out every aspect of the serum's composition as well as-" (Suddenly out of nowhere it hits her.) Oh, of course, that makes sense! They have to be one and the same! (With excitement of this new knowledge come to light, she tells Trip) "I know who Dr. Goodman is!"

(Trip seemed interested and said,) "Okay I'll bite; who she Simmons?" (Simmons replies,) "When Skye was shot, Coulson gave us all the files pertaining to him, the procedures and operations as well as those who were responsible for administering the serum which brought him back and saved Skye's life. There were only two names that weren't redacted from those files; a one Dr. Streiten and…a one Dr. Jennifer Goodman."

(Trip seemed shocked by this new intelligence, so shocked that he didn't even know what to say. But the shock quickly subsided, and it became apparent to him why Hydra was so interested in Dr. Streiten. He looked at her and said,) "That explains why they were so damn desperate to get their hands on the Doc in the first place," (She finishes his sentence, saying,) "Because they only had half of the data needed to recreate the formula for the original serum."

It's quite brilliant actually, in an evil-trying-to-takeover-the-world kind of way. (Trip took a moment, and soon he was curious as to what else Dr. Goodman had written down in the journal. He asked,) "Does it say in there if she was able to recreate the original formula?" I hadn't gotten that far, but surly there has to be something… (She looks down at the book and flips to the next page and after reading this page she moved on to the next and the next and so on.)

(She shook her head and replied disappointedly,) "Not so far, but maybe she kept another journal around here somewhere; one that could of the formula for GH.325." (Trip looks at her, dishearten. Simmons looked up and saw this, and he responded with.) "That's quite a stretch Simmons, even for you." I know that Trip, but we're so close to finding it, I can feel it; we just need to keep looking for a bit longer, but how do I explain that to you?

(Simmons looked away, staring at the book for a moment. Trip seemed unsure, even more so when he looked at his watch and saw the time. The two looked at one another, and he said,) "*sighs* Okay, we're supposed to meet back up with Coulson's team in 9 minutes," Bloody hell, I completely forgot about the time; damn, we don't have the time to go through every file here, hoping beyond that we'll find something that could lead us to their research…

(She looked away, saddened and disappointed. Trip however grinned and continue saying,) "That means we have 7 minutes to look." (Her eyes widened and continued so when she looked up at Trip. She was shocked to hear him say what he did, but she was also thrilled; because now there was a chance, a slim one, but a chance nonetheless.) I don't know what to say…thank you just doesn't seem enough.

(Trip shifted the strap on his rifle and then told her the plan.) "I'll take another look around, see if I can't find something that I missed while you check through that journal; maybe we'll get lucky and she'll mention where we should start looking." Yes, right, good plan. (She nods in agreement and begins looking through the rest of the pages for any clue or hint; meanwhile Trip began searching the room once again, starting with the filing cabinets that Simmons had yet to finish rifling through.)

So far I've found nothing on either the location of their serum or if they even managed to recreate the process…Ugh this is so infuriating that I could just- (Suddenly she felt a chill go up her spine, causing her to have goosebumps. She shivered a bit as she started rubbing the back of her neck, trying to warm herself from the ice cold breeze that she had felt.) Well now, that was strange, (She turned around to see what could have caused her to shiver like that, but all she found was cabinet full of chemicals standing before her.)

I'm certain I felt a breeze come from somewhere, but there's nothing here except this cabinet. (That's when she noticed that there was something off about the chemicals. She took a step forward and looked closely at one particular glass container; the label stated what the container held within.) Hydrochloride? What possible use could Hydra have for such a thing? I mean unless someone has significant B6 vitamin deficiency, but that's highly unlikely, regardless it is rather strange that this would be in the lab.

(She reaches up, grabbing the neck of the container, only to find it seemingly stuck to the shelf.) Strange indeed… (She closes the journal and puts it into her medical satchel before turning her attention back to the container. Taking the neck with both hands she pulled it towards her; a clicking sound seemingly came out from behind the container itself, after that the shelf seemed to shift which more than startled her.)

(Trip looked behind him only to see Simmons was standing there and the cabinet in front of her parting off to one side on its own. He rushed over grabbed her by the arm and led her behind him. Unsure of what awaited them, Trip swung his rifle in front of him and ready himself. The cabinet revealed a metal door, which seemed newer than anything else that they've seen within the facility itself.)

(The door had scuff marks, like multiple objects seemingly ricocheted of the doors' metal surface. The two looked at one another and as they looked back to the door, Simmons noticed something on the floor. She raised her arm, pointed to it, and told Trip,) "Trip look, there on the floor…what is that?" (Trip's eyes snapped to where she was pointing and seeing no immediate danger, he lowered his weapon, took a step forward, and knelt down next to it.)

(Slowly, he reached down and picked it up; afterwards he stood up and returned to Simmons. The two took a look at what it was and discovered that it's what they've been looking for.) It's the keycard! Bout bloody time we found that thing, but why was it under there…maybe someone dropped it or…or maybe they hid it there for some reason… (These questions would have to wait as Trip handed the keycard to her. He stated,) "One keycard, as promised."

(Simmons smiled and replied,) "Yes very good, now…let's see what Hydra has hiding on that computer, shall we." (Simmons started walking over towards the still working terminal, with Trip following closely behind. Once more she sat down on the stool provided while Trip hovered over her. She stared at the keycard for a second before placing it in the card slider; quickly she slid the card downward afterwards she looked at the screen and the two of them waited.)

(Every second they waited made Trip even antsier and it was made much worse when he looked down at his watch and saw the time. He looked back up at the screen and reminded Simmons,) "4 minutes…we're cutting it real close here girl." I know Trip, but this has to be important otherwise why they would go through all this trouble of putting in a card reader is beyond-(Suddenly the screen changes to a loading screen,) Yes finally, 'bout bloody time…

(After a few seconds the screen changes once again, this time showing a timer, counting down from 10 minutes and 15 seconds.) What's this… (In a split-second it hit her like a brick wall, which is when the shock and fear started setting in. She was unable to look away from the timer, it was as if some part of her thought that if she looked away then it would countdown faster. She was however able to ask Trip,) "*frightened tone* Trip, is that what I think it is?"

(Trip knew, from the moment that it popped up on the computer screen he knew. He has seen a lot of these in his years with S.H.I.E.L.D., yet this one, he was ashamed to admit, he did not see coming. He quickly grabbed Simmons by both shoulders and gently nudged her up off the stool. He replied with,) "Yep I think it is. Which means we need to find the others and get the hell out of her before this place blo-" (Out of nowhere the echoed sound of automatic gunfire rings outs.)

(This of course took everyone by surprise, so much so that it startled Simmons to her feet and knocking over the stool in the process. Trip's training kicked in, as he readied his weapon, aiming it at the door. He briefly looks over at Simmons, who is still startled from before, and says,) "That's our queue…time to go, now." You'll get no argument from me; this whole thing quite obviously a trap, I just couldn't see past my own goals. Brilliant ol' girl, just bloody brilliant.

(Trip proceeded towards the door, with Simmons quickly following behind. They took cover on the wall and Trip used this brief moment to look at Simmons and tell her,) "Look, I know you're not particularly fond of guns, but now is not the time to be gun shy, okay?" (She looks at him as he turns to peek out the doorway, his head swiveling from right to left. She whispers to him in a slightly irritated tone,) "I am not gun shy okay, I'm just…I've only had a few hours of practice on the target range 'tis all. I've been far too busy with other things, important things I remind you."

(The sound of gunfire grows more frequent and even louder, which meant that whoever was doing the shooting was heading their way. He leaned back against the wall, looked down at his rifle and pulled back the slide to check and see if there was a bullet in the chamber. During this he asked,) "And how did you do in practice, if you don't mind me asking given our current situation?"

(She didn't say, and when he looked over at her she gave him a look, the same look that she gives when she's trying to hold back bad news. Unfortunately, most everyone knew this look by now, including Trip who really didn't want to know, but needed to and so he asks,) "That bad?" Well no, not really…whatever you do don't tell him the truth. (She replied) "I hit…some of my targets."

(Trip looked back out at the corridor, down from where they came from; he watched and listened as the gunfire drew closer, so much so that he could actually see muzzle flashes, which also drew closer. He continued watching as he asked her,) "How many targets did you hit?" Don't tell him, do not tell him… (She hesitated, but eventually she replied,) "5, I hit 5 of my targets," (Trip's seemed confused, so he asked,) "Out of how many?"

DO NOT TELL HIM! (She replied shamefully,) "30…" (Trip quickly leaned back and gave her a looked of absolute shock. But before he could reply over the sound of ever-increasing gunfire, he heard someone shout down the corridor.) "TRIP, SIMMONS; WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" (Trip knew that voice, he would recognize it anywhere, even over gunfire. He looked back out and down the corridor and saw Coulson and Skye turn the corner carrying someone.)

(Trip, upon recognizing his team shouted back,) "COULSON, WE'RE DOWN HERE, C'MON!" Coulson, is he… (She maneuvered around Trip so she could see down the hallway and when she saw both Coulson and Skye she was ecstatic. She tried to make out who they were carrying but it was too dark, even with the light from the muzzle flashes. Part of her was worried because she had not seen Jaxx with them, so she shouted,) "SIR, WHERE'S JAXX!?"

 **5 minutes Earlier**

 **Unknown Corridor**

This mission had gone from a simple rescue and retrieval mission to total FUBAR in less than a day; at least that is what Jaxx had thought as he walked down the dimly lit corridor. Of course, he's experienced situations like this before, back when he served; the fact was that none of his missions have ever gone according to plan. Whether it was due to insufficient information, bad Intel, or just plain being overpowered he always managed to push through it, but sometimes the cost was great. Its mission's like this that always make him wary, because with these types of missions; the cost is often paid in pain, in sacrifice, in blood.

However, he was determined to make sure it never came to that, he told himself over and over again that he would do whatever it takes to make sure everyone makes it out…whatever it takes. But he knew that he couldn't do that, not without revealing who he truly was…yet in his mind he was not yet ready to reveal that to anyone quite yet, especially to his sister. That's the whole reason that he continued to follow the blood trail from the Science lab alone. With no one around, he would be able to do what is needed of him, just like when he was a soldier, but it doesn't mean he had to like it.

The fact was, he never liked using his "Natural Talents" as Fury called it, mainly because he himself never really understood them or why he had to have them…call it unfortunate circumstance. It doesn't matter, because every step he took as he followed the blood trail, he came closer to something unexpected, something deadly that was waiting for him. So, regardless how he felt, he would soon learn that he would either have to use them, or suffer the severe consequences.

 **Jaxx**

(He quickly turned the corner, aiming his P90 down the dimly lit corridor. The light strapped on the under mount helped him only a little when it came to seeing, but every little bit helps. Cautiously he started to walk down the corridor one step at a time making sure that there were no surprises waiting for him.)

(Swiveling his weapon from the left, then the right, it was then that he noticed two doors on either side; the one on the right was the closest to him, which is why he walked over to it first. Once there, he aimed his weapon at the door with one hand and reached out, grabbing the door handle with the other. His grip tightened on his P90 as he slowly pushed down on the handle until he heard it click.)

(He held his breath and started counting down in his head,) 3…2…1 GO! (Using enough force he pulled on the handle which caused he door to fly open; the only thing that stopped it from hitting the wall off to the side was him using his foot as a door stop. He carefully shined his light within the room, sweeping from left to right, up and down; after a minute he was satisfied that there was nothing in here.)

Just a storage room, (Like the rooms before, it too was in complete disarray, with various supplies thrown about or torn completely to shreds. More importantly, there was no sign of the Doctor or the generator; plus there was no blood either inside the room or on the outside of the door. This meant that his search was not yet over. He stepped back out into the corridor and closed the door, after which he turned his attention to the other door further down.)

(He said to himself sarcastically,) "Let's see what's behind door #2, shall we." (Not taking any chances he aimed his weapon down at the door on the left, before cautiously making his way towards it. It wasn't until he got to the door that he noticed that it was open just a hair; he raised his weapon in preparation for his breach. This time however, he kept both hands on the P90 and instead, used the toe of his boot to swing the door open.)

(Again, he checked the corners, first the right then he took a step inside to check the left. It took just a few seconds to sweep the room, which seemed to be some sort of living space; at least it was at one time, regardless he determined that there were no hostiles in sight so he lowered his weapon and breathed a little easier.) Well, I since I'm here I might as well look around. (He stepped inside and kept walking until he was in the middle of the room.)

Well, this place isn't as trashed as the others- (All of a sudden a crackling sound came from behind him, and yet he didn't jump or seem surprised. He reached behind him and grabbed the radio, which he had taken from the science lab, and turned down the volume.) What a piece of crap… (It was then a voice came over the radio, asking,) " _Jaxx, Jaxx come in…can you hear me?_ " Yea, yea, yea I hear ya just give me a second…

(He turned a couple of the dials and knobs on the radio, which seemed to clear up what little static there was. After that, he clicked the button and spoke into it, stating calmly,) "Yea Coul I can hear ya, over." (Jaxx decided to continue to look around while waiting for a response back. He walked over to a small dresser in the corner and started opening the drawers. While he was rifling through some old clothes, Coulson came over the radio and asked,) " _Have you found anything yet?_ "

(Upon finding nothing of importance in the first drawer he closed it and opened up the next one down; while doing this he clicked the button and replied,) "Nope nothing yet Coul; how bout you? Anything on that computer that can tell us where either one are, or at least where to start looking?" (The was a very brief pause before Coulson replied back with,) " _Not really, but we did find something else…_ " Wow Coul, can you be any vaguer?

(Jaxx closed the drawer and moved onto the last one, but before he opened it he clicked the button and asked,) "Well, don't keep me in suspense. Give me some details…" (Jaxx continued on, opening the last drawer, which is when he found it riddled with notepads. He removed the flashlight from the under barrel of his P90 and held it in one hand while grabbing one of the notepads with the other.)

(Coulson finally responded,) " _Well, most of the files are highly encrypted, but Skye has managed to break through a few. One of those files is a patient list; these patients supposedly volunteered for some sort of drug trial._ " (Jaxx cringed a bit, clicked the button and replied,) "It makes sense I mean, it's not exactly like Hydra can go looking on craigslist for volunteers." (Skye came over the radio and said,) " _Yeah well, according to the file they had over 45 volunteers; most of which are…or should I say were, college students and the homeless._ "

I can only imagine what Hydra put those poor bastards through, (He flipped open the cover and written on the first page. To him it looked like some sort of equation or formula, but to what he had no idea.) Crap…I really should've paid more attention in school, oh well… (He flipped to the next page, which seemed to have various amounts of information hastily scribbled in and onto the next page. Unfortunately the most of the information was either incomplete or simply not finished.)

(Jaxx clicked the button and spoke into the radio, stating what he found.) "Hey Coul, I think I found something." (Coulson came over the radio and asked,) " _What did you find?_ " Maybe nothing or… (He paused suddenly, staying perfectly still, moving only his eyes. There was something behind him; at least that was what his instincts were telling him. Never once did he distrust his instincts, mainly because if it wasn't for them then he wouldn't be alive today.)

Alright asshole, (He slowly lowered both the radio and notepad to the ground. Once again he paused just mere inches from the notepad and radio touching the floor. He stayed this way for a few seconds, until, in one quick fluid movement, he lets go of both the radio and notepad. As they dropped to the floor he quickly grabbed his P90 and quickly spun around, aiming both the weapon and light source at the doorway.)

What the… (Much to his surprise there appeared to be no one there. He waited for a few seconds, bracing himself just in case, but nothing happened.) I thought… (Coulson radioed,) " _Jaxx…Jaxx are you there?_ " There was something there…I could've sworn there was. (He still gripped the gun with his one hand, while reaching down and grabbing the radio with the other. He drew the radio close to his face, clicked the button and said,) "Yeah Coul…I'm here I just…never mind."

Don't lose your shit now Jaxx; you can't afford any mistakes especially here. (Jaxx clicked the button and continued,) "As I was starting to say, I found a room down the hall a ways. I took a look inside and found some notebooks; one page has some sort of formula and the rest have equations in them." (Though he couldn't see it, Jaxx could definitely hear the intrigue in Coulson's voice as he radioed back to ask,) " _What kind of formula and equations?_ "

(Jaxx shrugs, even though he knew that no one would see it but him, and replied,) "How the hell should I know, I'm a soldier not a scientist *the faint sound of footsteps comes from the hallway, he once again quickly spins around and aims his gun at the doorway* what the hell?" Something is out there, stalking me like I'm some sort of helpless prey…*chuckles* it has no idea who it's fucking with.

(Suddenly, Coulson radioed back sounding concerned and asking,) " _Jaxx what is it? Is something there?_ " (Jaxx looked down at the radio, which he still clenched in his left hand,) Damnit, I forgot to let go of the button. Shit, the last thing I need is for them to start panicking; okay Jaxx, just keep it cool, keep them calm. (He pulled the radio up to his lips and replied honestly,) "No idea, it may be nothing or…something. I'm gonna check it out."

(Still aiming the weapon with his right hand, he used his other hand to clip the radio onto his vest, which made everything a lot easier. He later reached over and grabbed one of the pillows which were still lying on the floor. Using the pillow casing as a makeshift bag, he grabbed all the notepads he could find and stuffed them inside. But the notepad that he was looking at earlier, the one with the formula and equations; he stuffed that one inside his vest, hidden away from the others.)

(He took a moment to tie the makeshift bag around his belt. During which Skye came over the radio and stated,) " _Uhh, all the camera's in that area are offline; I'm trying to get them back up now, but it's going to take some time. You'll be own your own…_ " Well, what else is new…either way, there's something down here and I'm going to find out what. (Coulson then stated,) " _Jaxx, you will have no one watching your back down their…are you sure you want to do this?_ "

Am I sure, *scoffs* no, but it's not like we have much choice, besides; I have questions of my own and I would like to get to Dr. Streiten before any of you. (Jaxx starts walking out of the room, and just before stepping out into the corridor he radios' back and asks,) "Yeah, I'm sure…" (Jaxx peeks out into the hall, looking from left to right then to the left once more. He clipped the flashlight back onto the under barrel of the P90 and waited for Coulson to respond.)

(After about a minute, Coulson finally radio's back and says,) " _We have 7 minutes before we have to meet up with Trip and Simmons…that gives you 6 minutes to look around. Get it done and watch your back, understood?_ " (Jaxx grins, clicks the button and replies,) "Understood, and Coul…" (Coulson radios back,) " _Yeah…_ " (Jaxx quickly exits into the hall and aims his weapon down the corridor. Using his left hand he clicks the button and radios back Coulson and says,) "I only need 5."

(He clicks off the radio as he started quickly and cautiously walks down to the end of the hall. Up ahead the corridor split-off, with one hall going left and one hall going right. Making as tactical decision to move closer to the wall, he slowly crept down until he was at the corner. His right hand gripped the handle of the P90 tightly while his left gripped the under barrel just as tightly.)

(Taking a couple deep breaths, he told himself,) Okay, here we go…again. (After exhaling, he lifted his SMG and leapt out into the intersection. He aimed down the right hall first, quickly shining the torchlight from left to right, up and down. There was no sign of any hostiles, just more hall way leading further into darkness.) Clear, I think… (Seconds later he quickly turned to his left and repeated the same process. He spotted a door down a ways, but just like the before, there was no sign of any hostiles; much to his relief.)

Clear… (He lowered his SMG, and took a moment, thinking on a few things.) This is wrong…something's off here… (He closed his eyes and breathed in through his nostrils. That's when he smelled it, that familiar scent that he has smelled so many times before. His eyes shot open and he looked to his left; it wasn't far off, maybe just a few feet away. Once more he lifted his SMG up, shining the torchlight down the hall. Walking down the left hall, each step made the scent intensified more and more.)

(The intensity of said smell reached its peak; he stopped and looked down and just a few inches in front of his feet there it was. He kneeled down beside the puddle,) Blood, (He sniffs the air before placing his hand just a few inches above the blood pool.) It's faint, but I can still feel the heat coming off of it. (He pulls back his hand, placing it back on the grip of the gun, but there was something about it that gnawed at him. Even without the light from his torch he could still see the area in front of him as clear as day.)

Something's off, (He turns and shines the torchlight on the floor behind him, but see's nothing out of the ordinary.) Thought so… (He turned back to the blood pool to take another look, this time he looked at the area around the blood itself, using the light from his torch.) The blood trail ends just before turning the corner, so that begs the question; why is this here, and whose does it belong to?

(Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from his right and not soon after he quickly aimed his SMG in that direction. The light shined on a bulk-head door, one which was cracked open just a ways. Slowly he stood up and walked over to the side of said door. Reaching out with his left hand, he placed it on the door and pushed it. As the door creaked open he turned and aimed his P90, sweeping from left to right and checking the corners.)

HOLY SHIT… (As he stepped inside the room, his eyes widened as looked on at the massive machine in front of him. Despite the carnage around it, the machine seemed to be working just fine as it hummed almost peacefully. Jaxx turned his radio on and clicked the button and spoke,) "Hey Coulson…" (A second later Coulson came over the radio and replied,) " _Jaxx, what is it…did you find something?_ " (Jaxx mumbled to himself,) "Yea, you could say that."

(He looked around and saw a console in front of him, so he walked up to it. Jaxx radioed back,) "Yea, I think I found that pesky **Electro-Refraction Stasis Field Generator**." I don't think we brought enough explosives, (He looked at the touch screen on the console then started tapping on the options that were present.) Let's see here… (Before he could get too far into it, Coulson radioed back asking,) " _Really, well it's about time that we got some good news._ "

(Jaxx radioed Coulson as he continued tapping and swiping through the options on the screen.) "I wouldn't celebrate yet; we still need to shut it down and find this Streiten guy." He's gonna be a buzz kill. (Coulson radioed back,) " _Kill joy…_ " Eh, close enough. Okay let's see…fuel is at about 87%, the turbines are at max speed…where the hell is the off switch? (Jaxx clicked the button and asked,) "Hey Skye, there's a touchscreen here which seems to be operational, can you do your little hacking thing and see if you can't shut it down?"

(Coulson replied,) " _She's checking it now, in the meantime; is there anything that you can do from your end?_ " Jeez make me do all the work why don't ya… (Jaxx looked up from the console and spotted a door with a keypad next to it. When he walked over, he noticed that the door itself was open a bit, just a few inches.) Well then, let's give it a try. (He swung his P90 off to his side and kneeled down reaching his fingers underneath the door. His muscles clenched and fingers tighten as he started lifting.)

(The door gave an inch, but only an inch; it was as it was jammed, as it appeared to not want to move any further.) Son of a bitch! *Grunts out* (Eventually, he stopped trying to lift the door and stood back up, though a bit exhausted.) Well, that's not going anywhere. (He looked over at the keypad, which seemed like it was still functional; shortly after an idea crossed his mind. Jaxx radioed Coulson and Skye, updating them on his progress.) "There's a door here that looks like it leads straight to where the generator is, but it's jammed. There is a keypad here though; can ya hack it Skye?"

(Jaxx walked back over to the console and stared at the screen as he waited for an answer. He placed his hands on the sides of the console, which was when Skye radioed back,) " _Sorry no can do; both the console and keypad are on a totally separate network. I can get access to it, but I need 15 minutes to hack my way past the firewalls._ " I don't think we have that much time girlie. (Suddenly he felt something, underneath the right side of the console. He quickly leaned over and saw something unexpected, which caused him to mumble to himself,) "You have got to be kidding me."

(Coulson came over the radio and told Jaxx,) " _We're working on the problem, in the meantime you need to-_ " (Jaxx stood back up, clicking something underneath the console. Shortly after, the generator suddenly, out of nowhere, powered down. Every gear, every spring, every turbine within just screeched to a halt; without being in the same room, he could tell that both Coulson and Skye were confusingly staring at the screen wondering what's going on.)

(Jaxx clicked the button and sarcastically radioed them,) "You're welcome." (A smirk appeared, as he started to feel impressed with what he had just accomplished. He stepped back from the console and watched as the power stats started rapidly dropping all the way down to zero. Coulson, somewhat frantic, radioed Jaxx asking,) " _What did you do?_ " I fixed the problem, duh. (Jaxx clicked the button and replied,) "I took care of the generator, that's what I did."

(Skye came over the radio, asking curiously,) " _How the hell did you do that?_ " I should tell her, but what would be the fun in that? (Jaxx replied simply,) "I have my ways…Plus, it helps when there's an off-" (He turned and looked at the door; like a statue he just stood there staring at the door. It was faint, almost like someone was trying desperately to breathe, but he knew it wasn't his imagination.)

(Unfortunately, when he stopped talking suddenly, it caught the attention of both Coulson and Skye. It was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. that came over the radio, and sounding more than a bit concerned, he asked,) " _Jaxx, are you there? What's happening…Is there-_ " (Jaxx clicked the button, which interrupted Coulson, and replied with a simple,) "Shhh…I heard something…Give me a minute." There's someone here, I just need to focus…

(His ears twitched ever-so-slightly as he focused on trying to hone in on the faint breathing. The average person would not have been able to hear it, much less be able to locate it using just sound. Jaxx however, he had always been different from the average person. He had used his "Unique Talents" as he sarcastically called them, before and no one was any the wiser not even his friends or sister.)

(As he focused on just the faint breathing, he started tuning out every other sound from the water dripping down from the pipes 75 meters down the hall, to Skye tapping on the keys of the keyboard back in the Science lab. Seconds later all other noise and sounds had disappeared leaving only the sound of faint breathing. He looked back up at the door after which he walked out into the hall.)

(The breathing became clearer as he stood there for a moment, which made it easier for him to hone in on where it was coming from.) Where are you…(Suddenly, the breathing had changed; whoever it was, they were no longer slowly and faintly breathing, as they now started gasping. It was difficult for him to listen to, but the gasping made it easier for him to locate its origin.)

(It took him and his ability mere seconds to hone in on the location; he looked down the hall to his right and saw a door just a few meters down.) There… (He swung his SMG from his side to his front, aiming at the door itself. Once more his training kicked in as he used quiet, precise footwork to make his way to the door. When he finally made it to the door, he slowly and cautiously looked at not only the base of the door, but around the frame as well.) No trip-wires…no sensors, (It wasn't until he shined his torchlight on the handle of the door, that he noticed a familiar red print.) Well, that's not very reassuring. (He leaned in close and he listened; someone's inside, their gasps growing shorter with each passing second.)

(With time being of the essence, he reached out, grasping blood soaked handle and slowly turned it. Afterwards, he took a deep breath…) 3…2… (He pulled the door open and went inside with his gun drawn; seconds barely passed by when the look of shock and distilled terror encompassed his face.) MY GOD… (It took most of his fortitude to keep himself from hurling up his breakfast, or lack thereof.)

(As he took a step forward, he couldn't help but look around at the dozens of bodies that riddled this makeshift locker room. One body, to his left, caught his eye; he knelt down in front of the body and started looking for any sort of explanation as to what could have done this. He saw something peeking out of the pocket of the blood soaked lab coat. Gently, as to not disturb the body any further, he reached in and pulled out two cards; one was a white keycard, the other was an ID card. He wiped some of the blood off of the ID before Coulson came over the radio.)

" _Jaxx, do you copy? Jaxx, please respond?_ " (Jaxx clicked the button and replied back,) "I'm here Coul and I'm fine." But Dr. Jennifer Goodman isn't looking her best. (Coulson radioed back, sound somewhat relieved,) " _That's good to hear, but why did you go silent?_ " (Part of him wanted to keep the truth from Coulson and Skye, but the other part knew that they deserved to know what he found. So, he chooses and radioed back,) "I thought I heard something, so I went to check it out. I heard a noise coming from a room down the hall and when I checked it, that's when I found…, them."

(Coulson radioed back almost immediately,) " _Them, you mean found them…the Hydra personnel?_ " (Jaxx replied back,) "Yep." (Coulson came over the radio, asking a laundry list of questions,) " _Can they tell us what happened here? Or where we can find Dr. Streiten?_ " (He looked up at the body in front of him, more specifically, at the clouded eyes of the now deceased Dr. Goodman. He clicked the button and replied,) "Unfortunately, they're not going to be able to answer any questions Coul. They're all dead."

(The radio went dead silent; leaving Jaxx with nothing more than his own thoughts for company. He had seen his fair share of corpses while in Iraq and Falusia, but still it never got easier especially now. He reached out and gently closed Dr. Goodman's eyes, after which he shook his head and mumbled to himself,) "You people deserved to be punished, but this… *He looked around at the other corpses, once more taking in the horrified looks plastered on their faces.*"

(Coulson came over the radio, sounding cold,) " _Can you…is Streiten there? We need to kno-_ " (Jaxx interrupted him,) "I haven't seen him yet, but I'll keep-*a faint gasp came from the corner of the room,* hold on a sec." (As he stood up, he placed both the ID and the keycard in his pants pocket, and then took up his P90 once again. He slowly walked over towards the corner, shining the torchlight on each face that he passed by along the way.)

(It wasn't until he got to the corner that he spotted him; a blood-covered lifeless Dr. Streiten, sitting on the floor lying against the wall. He knelt down in front of the body; Streiten's chest had a deep cut leading from the chest to the side of his stomach. One of his arms looked like it was broken during some sort of struggle. There were more cuts and lacerations on his legs, arms, and face.) You, poor bastard; what the hell did this to you?

(Looking at this near-shredded body that used to be Dr. Streiten, the same man that he was supposed to save, he couldn't help but feel guilty.) We should've gotten here sooner…maybe we could've stopped all of this. (He looked away from the body; he reached for the radio, clicked the button and was about to tell Coulson and Skye that he found the doctor, but then he heard something.)

(He said nothing; instead he let go of the radio and once again listened, truly listened. That's when he heard it; it was slow, but it was there.) I'll be damned, a heartbeat! (He place two fingers on Streiten's throat, trying to find a pulse to confirm what he heard. The pulse was weak, but it was there, which was good news for the team. Using the other hand he clicked the button and frantically radioed Coulson and Skye,) "I found him, repeat, I found Dr. Streiten!"

(Jaxx worked quickly, moving and shoving the dead which seemed to drape over the barely breathing doctor. He dragged the last body off, dropping it to the side; afterwards he went straight for the doctor. Coulson radioed, asking about the doctor.) " _You found him!? What's his condition?_ " (Jaxx took Streiten's left arm, gently lifting it up; this caused Streiten gasp out in pain, which seemingly brought him to consciousness.)

(Jaxx swung the arm over his shoulders and tried his best to ease the doctor up to his feet. Once on they were on their feet, Jaxx radioed back while slowly walking to the doorway.) "Well, he's alive to say the least, but he's seen better days. He needs immediate medical assistance, like now!" (Jaxx was struggling as he tried carrying Streiten towards the door, all the while hearing the doctor struggle to breathe. He turned to doctor Streiten,) "Everything's going to be okay doc. We're getting you outta here, just hold a bit longer."

(Streiten's blood-covered eyelids fluttered before he was finally able to open his eyes. When he saw Jaxx for the first time, he thought he was dreaming or that it was a simple hallucination. He gasped out,) "Jaxx…" (Jaxx stopped, so that he could reply,) "Hey doc, how's your day going?" (Streiten continued gasping, still wondering whether or not Jaxx was actually here. Meanwhile, Jaxx managed to get Streiten to the doorway just as Coulson came over the radio.)

" _Understood; I'll meet you halfway._ " (As Jaxx stepped out into the hallway with Streiten, he radioed back.) "Got ya; I'll see you in a-" (His nostrils flared as the sudden scent hits him out of nowhere. It's this scent that stops him cold; his eyes widened and for a moment he almost forgets to breathe.) What the hell is that? Where the hell did it come from? (Coulson sounded concerned when he came over the radio asking him,) " _Jaxx, are you there? What's going on?_ "

(Out of nowhere, a growl comes from behind him; Jaxx slowly reached for the radio, clicked the button, and whispered,) "I've got some company here." (He stood completely still, as still as a statue; he sniffed the air once more, after which his eyes shot straight ahead of him.) Damn it…whatever these things are, they've got me and doc boxed in. Just calm down and take a breath…Okay so, there's one behind me and one in front of me; their breathing is slow, and steady, but their muscles are tense.

(His eyes shoot over to Streiten, who is still barely conscious, mumbling incoherently.) He's fading fast. I've gotta make a move, now. (He looks forward, and grabs his radio, telling Coulson,) "Coulson, be ready to move. I'm coming at'cha…fast and in a hurry, just like in New Orleans, remember?" Please tell me that you remember, otherwise I'll show a side that I don't want you to see.

(Coulson radios back,) " _I remember…we'll be waiting._ " I'm counting on it. (He looks over at the doctor, and whispers to him,) "Sorry doc, this is gonna hurt." (Jaxx closed his eyes and mentally started counting. While his mind started counting down from 10, he listened closely; he could hear their knuckles and bones crackle. As he got to 5 he readied himself for was about to happen, for what he was going to do.)

(At 3, his expression turned stern, focused even, while he cleared his mind of any distractions; this caused him to focus solely on the task before him. 1…Jaxx opened his eyes and looked straight ahead. In one quick motion he knelt down low enough to wrap his left arm around Streiten's waist and hoist him up and over his shoulder; after he quickly grabbed the P90 with his free hand and turned around.)

(He fired off 3 shots, followed by another 3, and each set made a thudding sound as they found their target. Jaxx quickly turned back around and sprinted as fast as he could, with a now unconscious Streiten, heading back to where he came from; back to what he had hoped would be his salvation and not his demise…)

 **1 minute and 25 secs earlier**

 **Coulson and Skye**

 **Science Hall- Science Lab 1**

 **Coulson**

"Understood; I'll meet you halfway." (He sets the radio down next to Skye, afterwards he reaches for the M1A1 which was still hanging off to his side. He quickly swings it around to his front and then presses the release button just to the side of the safety switch. He grabs the clip and checks it briefly before slamming it back in. Jaxx radioed back,) " _Got ya; I'll see you in a-_ "

(Jaxx seemed to be cut off and for the next few seconds there was nothing but utter silence. Coulson glanced at Skye then back at the radio; both were equally concerned, so much so that Coulson quickly picked up the radio , lifted it close to his face and clicked the button,) "Jaxx, are you there? What's going on?"

(Seconds passed and yet there was no response and for a brief moment deep within the back of his mind he couldn't help but think that he had lost yet another friend to Hydra. He glanced over at Skye, who is growing more and more concerned with each passing second; then, suddenly, a voice came over the radio, familiar, yet something was amiss as the voice stated.) " _I've got some company here._ " Skye's here, and both Trip and Simmons are checking out the Medical Wing. It has to be the remaining Hydra personnel, or maybe… (Coulson's mind froze on a single, terrifying thought, one he quickly wished he hadn't thought of.) Maybe it's something, much worse.

(Coulson's eyes glanced anxiously over at the computer screen in front of Skye; the download bar was inching closer to being finished, but as of yet, only 67% of the files had been downloaded to the USB. Jaxx came over the radio once more, this time he sounded calm, yet serious when he spoke.) " _Coulson, I'm coming at'cha…quick, fast, and in a hurry, just like in New Orleans…_ " Oh man, this is going to get messy…

(He glanced over at Skye, who had been watching the two conversing over the radio. She wasn't sure what was going on, or why they were talking about New Orleans; Coulson has a plan, and he hoped that Skye would follow his lead. Coulson clicked the button and replied calmly with,) "We'll be waiting." (Seconds later, he clipped the radio to the side of his belt then looked over at Skye and stated,) "Skye, I need you to follow my instructions exactly; no deviation, do you understand?"

I can see it written all over her face, the confusion with just a smidge of fear mixed in; and yet, I know that she'll do what needs to be done. (She looks at the computer screen, and stares at the bar which now says 76%; she looks back at Coulson and replied,) "Okay, but I haven't finished downloading the files from the hard-drive yet..." (Coulson replied) "We'll make do with what you have, but we need to be ready to move. Jaxx will be here in 30 secs and he'll have some company."

(Skye understood and followed her orders; quickly she stood up from the stool and removed the USB from the side of the computer, and put it safely away inside the front pouch of her pack. As she turned away from the computer a message suddenly popped up on the screen saying _**Error: Unknown Drive no longer detected; Files may be corrupted**_. Skye followed Coulson and the two walked over to the doorway that Jaxx had gone through.)

(They place themselves against the wall, after which Coulson started searching through some pouches on his vest; once he found what he was searching for, he pulled them out and handed them off to Skye, saying simply,) "Here you go," These should do the job; (She stared at the items in her hands then looked at him, eyes widened, and with a shocked tone she said.) "Seriously?"

(Coulson replied simply,) "Seriously," (Afterwards he turned heading through the doorway and aimed his M1A1 down the hallway. Coulson looked back at Skye and said,) "When I tell you; pull the pins, count to 3 and throw them down there *points down the hallway*. Got it?"

(Skye nodded and replied,) "Yeah sure, I got it; piece of cake." (Despite her unsure tone she was confident that she could do what was needed of her. Instead of feeling nervous she looked up at Coulson and asked,) "Uh AC; I know this might be a bad time to ask but…what's the deal with New Orleans?" (He looked at her, grinned briefly and replied,) "Good times, and simpler too; that being said…"

(Coulson looked back down the hallway, as the sound of gunfire echoed closer and closer; he used his thumb to flip the safety off after which he continued saying,) "Well, let's just say that things…went a little hinky." 10 seconds…come on Jaxx, hurry up. (Coulson sees the sudden and rapid flashes of light from down the hall, which was followed quickly by the sound of gunfire. He saw Jaxx round the corner, carrying someone over his shoulder and firing blindly behind him.)

(Coulson couldn't make out who he was firing at, all he knew was whatever was chasing him, it wasn't friendly; with 4 seconds remaining Coulson readied himself, meanwhile Jaxx had stopped firing his weapon. The distinct clicking sound made by his pistol only meant that the clip was empty. By the time Coulson's mental countdown reached 1, Jaxx was within arm's reach of the doorway; which is when Coulson looked to Skye and shouted,) "Now Skye!"

(Without hesitation Skye pulls the pins on the grenades and released the levers which flipped into the air; afterwards she mumbled to herself,) "1…2…" (Jaxx had just rushed through the doorway, with his passenger in tow, breathing heavily. Skye meanwhile said aloud,) "3…!" (Skye quickly stepped step through the doorway and lobbed the grenades as far as she could down the hallway.)

(The grenades clanged as they struck against concrete flooring: Jaxx sat the bloodied and unconscious passenger down, leaning him against a lab table. Coulson grabbed Skye and the two quickly rushed back into the room; she covered her head with her arms while Coulson shielded her using his body, during which he quickly shouted,) "Fire in the hole!" (Seconds later a large and violent explosion enveloped the hallway, during which it expelled dust and pieces of rubble through the doorway into the room.)

(The combination of the concussive force and explosive caused debris to shoot in from the hallway and into the lab itself, followed by dust and smoke. Once the dust started to settle, Coulson stopped shielding Skye and turned towards the doorway. Skye coughed a little as she lowered her arms, while Jaxx slowly leaned up from using his own body to shield Streiten. Coulson looked back at Skye and asked,) "Are you good?" Crap, my ears are still ringing!

(Skye stopped coughing briefly before replying sarcastically,) "Yeah, *coughs* I'm just dandy, you?" Wish I had stayed home today…(He swiped some dust and debris off of his left shoulder and replied,) "A little sore, and starting to get really tired of this placed." (Their little banter gets broken up as the Jaxx started replacing his empty clip with a new one. When they looked over at him, they saw a lot of blood on the right side of his face and down his clothes.)

 **Skye**

Oh god, Jaxx! (She rushes over to Jaxx first, followed quickly by Coulson, both watched as Jaxx finished putting in a fresh clip and pulling back the slide. Skye quickly grabbed him and started checking for any wounds, during which Jaxx gently grabbed her shoulder and stated calmly.) "I'm fine Skye…it's not my blood." Thank god…(Skye and Coulson looked at the bloodied and barely alive figure next to Jaxx.)

Oh my god…(Even with the blood and cuts covering his face, Coulson was still able to recognize the good doctor. Coulson tried talking to him asking,) "Streiten, Dr. Streiten can you hear me?" (He was barely awake, but still unable to respond due to his severe injuries. Skye was still in shock at the state the doctor was in, so much so that she didn't realize that she said aloud.) "What the hell did they do to him?"

(Jaxx looked at her and replied,) "There's no time to ask, we've got to move…now!" (Skye glanced at Jaxx and noticed that he looked like he was ready for a firefight. She stated,) "What's the hurry? We just fragged the crap outta those Hydra goons back there." (Jaxx stood up and quickly made his way over to the doorway. He looked over to his left and saw a bookcase as tall and wide as the doorway.)

(Swinging his P90 to his side, he quickly grabbed the bookcase and it made a screeching sound as Jaxx started dragging it over towards the doorway. Once it was close enough he pushed it against the doorway, but he knew that this would only be a temporary delay. He turned around and when he looked at Coulson and Skye, he said,) "Those things weren't Hydra, or weren't human…*mumbles* not anymore at least."

(Both Coulson and Skye sported confused looks as they looked at one another. Skye quickly looked back at Jaxx and asked with a questioning tone,) "What did you mean when you said "they weren't human"?" (Seconds later a blood-curling roar came from behind the bookcase. Coulson's eyes widened while Skye felt an ice cold shiver go up her spine. Jaxx briefly glanced at the bookcase then back at Skye, who retorted with,) "I guess that answers my question."

(Coulson asks,) "What the hell was that?" That means we should get the hell outta here, that's what it means! (Suddenly, something slams against the bookcase, nearly tipping it over in the process. Jaxx quickly threw himself against it and used his own body weight to keep it in place. As the creature on the other side kept smashing into the bookcase, Jaxx struggled to hold it in place.)

(He was losing ground with each smash and everyone knew, which is why Jaxx continued pushing against the case while shouting at Coulson and Skye,) "This isn't going to hold; you two need to take Streiten and get the hell out of here!" (Skye responds with,) "What about you? We're not leaving you here with those…things!" (Jaxx was trying his best, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold the creatures at bay. Frustrated he turned to her and said,) "It'll take both of you to carry him out of here. I'll give you a 5 second head start before following!"

(Coulson replied with,) "Make it 3…because I'm not losing anyone else; you got that?" (Jaxx looked at him and simply nodded.) I don't like this, not for a second. (She looks down at Streiten who is barely clinging to life.) But he won't make it if we don't get to Simmons. (Coulson kneels down beside the near lifeless body of Streiten and gently lifts his right arm up and over his neck. Coulson looks up at Skye and shouts,) "Skye, I need your help!"

(Skye looks at Coulson and nods.) Yea right, I got you AC. (She kneels down next to Streiten and lifts his left arm up and over her neck. The bookcase was taking a beating, which became apparent when slivers of wood started flying off as Jaxx struggled to keep it in place. He shouted at them,) "Now would be a good time! Get going!" (Coulson looked at Skye and her at him; he told her,) "On 3 Skye; 1…2…3!"

(Coulson and Skye lift the good doctor to his feet, but in doing so the inadvertently caused him excruciating pain, which is why it was no surprise that he groaned out in pain. Coulson readied himself, as did Skye, who was still unsure of this FUBAR situation that they were currently in. As they made their way to the other door, Skye had to keep telling herself,) Don't look back, just keep moving forward. Everything will be fine…right?

(They made their way out into the hall and started heading down the corridor, back to where the team split up. Only a mere second had passed when they heard the sound of gunfire blasting from inside the lab which caused them to stop. When they turned around the gunfire had stopped only to see a split-second later, Jaxx flying out of the doorway, slamming violently back first, against the concrete wall. The sheer force from his body hitting the wall left quite the impression on both Jaxx and the wall itself.)

(While Jaxx's bruised body hit the floor, his P90 had slide all the way over to Skye's feet, leaving only Coulson to protect them. He lifted his M1A1 and aimed it at the doorway, waiting for whatever it was chasing them to step out. Skye looked down at Jaxx, who was slowly staggering to his feet, and then looked at the doorway as well.) Holy shit! (Skye says in a somewhat frightened tone,) "Please tell me that Hydra did not make their own version of the Hulk!" If they did then we are in seriously deep shit!

(Once he was on his feet, Jaxx staggered over to Skye and grabbed his P90 up off the floor; though he had the wind knocked out of him, he was still able to sarcastically state,) "I think that we've over-stayed our welcome." (Coulson sarcastically replied,) "I think you're probably right." (And seconds later, Coulson and Skye started once more, running as fast as they could down the hall, with Jaxx following quickly behind. It was slow going for Coulson and Skye, trying to outrun whatever was pursuing them while carrying Dr. Streiten, who was barely consciousness throughout.)

The constant sound of gunfire bursting just a few feet behind motivated them to keep moving forward; with each 3 round burst fired by Jaxx's P90, was quickly followed by that same blood-curdling roar that they heard before. Exhaustion started to set in as Coulson and Skye round the corner, which leads to yet another hallway, but one that would get them closer to Trip and Simmons. They rushed as fast as they could down the hallway, but their speed was greatly hindered by the fact that they were carrying a barely conscious Dr. Streiten.

And yet, it never crossed their mind for a second to simply just leave him behind and make a run for the others. It would've been easier for sure, but neither Coulson nor Skye would ever consider abandoning someone like that. Jaxx is still in some ways, a soldier, he follows orders no matter what and he was good at it, but there were times when that just wasn't enough. Though, none of that mattered now; not with them running for their lives and trying to find the others.

Skye and Coulson come to stop, exactly where the team had split up; the two look behind them and watch as Jaxx fires off 3 more shots before his gun goes empty. Jaxx checked his pouches and found one last magazine for his P90; he removed the used magazine, throwing it off to the side as the creatures drew closer to him. The creatures were nearly on top of him, just as he loaded in his last magazine; suddenly the creatures stumbled backwards as gunfire came from behind Jaxx.

He looked back to see Coulson firing his M1A1 at the creatures, while Skye fired her Smith & Wesson as she still clung to Streiten. Jaxx turned and provided cover fire, while Coulson and Skye continued to make their way down the hall quickly. The situation was starting to get the best of them, so much so that Coulson had no choice but to shout out for Trip and Simmons as a single thought continuously ran through his mind, one born out of fear; fear that they might be too late to save them or themselves.

 **Location: Medical**

 **Time: Current**

 **Triplett**

"TRIP! SIMMONS! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Wait a sec that sounds like-(The sound of gunfire blared down the hall to them, followed quickly by muzzle flashes. Yet even with the sound of chaos heading their way, both Trip and Simmons recognized Coulson's voice. As they looked out into the hallway, among the muzzle flashes they see Coulson and Skye turn the corner, carrying someone. Trip readied himself for combat and at the same time he shouted at Coulson.) "COULSON, WE'RE DOWN HERE, C'MON!"

(Coulson and Skye looked down the hall and saw Trip leaning out of a doorway; seeing him there, they started rushing they're way down to him when suddenly, the gunfire mysteriously stopped.) That can't be a good sign… (Regardless, Coulson and Skye continued heading towards agent Tripletts location, all the while Skye kept glancing behind her, looking for any sign of Jaxx. After hearing Trip yells out Coulson's name she maneuvered around Trip to see what all the fuss was about.)

(She had noticed that Coulson and Skye were carrying severely injured and bloodied Dr. Streiten, but there was no sign of Jaxx to be seen. Just as Coulson and Skye made it to the doorway, Simmons asked frantically,) "SIR WHERE'S JAXX!" (All Coulson could do was look her in the eyes and state calmly,) "He's not far behind, and it seems that he made some new friends.*Gunshots ring out*"

(Everyone turned around, just in time to see Jaxx quickly walking backwards around the corner, firing his pistol down the hall. After firing his 5th shot, a loud bloody roar suddenly echoed down the hall.) What in the hell was that!? (Jaxx quickly ran towards the others, meanwhile, Coulson turned to Simmons and said,) "Simmons, you and Skye take Dr. Streiten inside, now!" (Simmons was relieved to see Jaxx alive, so much so that she wanted to give him a hug and punch him on the shoulder, but now wasn't the time for either.)

(Instead she followed her orders, quickly taking Coulson's place and with the help of Skye, they managed to carry Dr. Streiten inside. While Skye and Simmons handled the doctor, Coulson and Trip turn around readying themselves. As Jaxx got to the doorway, he wasted little time in coming up with a plan, for which he asked Coulson.) "You wouldn't happen to have any more explosives on 'ya?"

(Coulson quickly began searching through his pouches, only to find a few magazines for his M1A1.) Wait a sec, I think… (Trip started looking through his vest pouches and found 2 grenades hidden away in his back pouch. He turned to Jaxx and says while holding out the grenades,) "Never leave home without 'em." (Jaxx grins as he quickly snatches them from Trip's hands; afterwards he jerked his head to his right and said,) "Get inside and take cover!"

(Both Coulson and Trip rush into the room without hesitation, but while Coulson rushed over to Simmons, Skye, and Streiten, Trip took cover beside the door and waited. Jaxx looked down the hall as he quickly pulled the pins from the grenades. As soon as the levers flew off, he started counting upwards from 1; his eyes had grown accustomed to the dark, so much so that he could see the creatures rush around the corner, heading towards him and the team.)

(As his count got to 3, he rolled the grenades down the hall, his ears twitching as the metal casing clanged and scraped against the concrete floor. The explosives made it nearly halfway down the hallway, but with mere seconds left Jaxx quickly ran into the room and took cover on the wall adjacent to Trip, who quickly slammed the door closed. A second later the grenades detonated; the resulting explosion could be both felt and heard by the team who were covering themselves from falling dust and debris.)

(Trip looked at Jaxx and said,) "*cough, cough* I think you got 'em." (That's what he thought, but Jaxx knew better; he's seen these things up close and he knew that the explosion only would only slow them down. He looked around while replying to Trip's statement.) "That bought us a few minutes at most. Here help me move these; we need to barricade that door." (Jaxx rushed over to the desk closest to him,) Hold up a sec, what the hell does he mean by that?

(Trip walked over to the other side of the desk and asked Jaxx,) "First off, what the hell is going on and secondly; who the hell was chasing you guys? *a loud, animalistic roar echoes in the hall*" You know what, it's not really that important. (With Trip now helping the two quickly slid the desk over in front of the door. Jaxx then rushes over to some filing cabinets and Trip quickly follows; Trip tilts the top of the cabinet down and the two proceed to carry the cabinet over to the door, and lay it on top of the desk.)

(Both Jaxx and Trip walked over and grabbed yet another desk and started sliding it over; once it was secured in place, Jaxx and Trip took a brief moment to catch their breath. At this point it was safe to assume that everybody was starting to feel not only the adrenaline, but the fear start to creep in. Trip looked over at Simmons and the others briefly, afterwards he looked back at Jaxx and in whisper he asked him.) "Okay seriously, what the hell is going? And what was that thing?"

(Jaxx leaned against the desk, and whispered back,) "Things," say what? (Trip, who was still whispering asked,) "Things…as in more than one?" (Jaxx nodded and responded,) "3 by my count; and as for what they are…who knows, but I do know that they're strong, quick, and bullets only seem to piss them off." Great, that's just great. (Trip stands tall, turns to Coulson and company and asks,) "So, what's our exit plan sir?"

(Coulson stood up and replied simply,) "I was hoping you had one…but, until we find a way past those things, we sit tight and just try and wait them out." (Trip knew that wasn't an option, and Simmons knew it too, which is why they both shared a not so subtle look, one which everyone noticed including Coulson. The Director looked at Simmons then at Trip and asked,) "I know that look. That's the "We've got some bad news to tell you" look. I hate that look." Yeah well, you're really going to hate what we have to tell you…

 **15 seconds later**

 **Simmons**

"You have got to be kidding me." (Coulson says who was secretly wishing in the back of his mind that he had listened to May and stayed at the base today. Skye looked up from Streiten and asked both Simmons and Trip,) "How much time do we have until this place goes all Dante's Inferno on us?" (Trip looks at his watch then at her and replies,) "Just under 7 minutes. So whatever we got to do, we got to do it fast." That's the understatement of the century, but we have a somewhat smaller problem to contend with.

(Simmons reaches into her medical bag and pulls out most of the gauze and bandages. She handed some over to Skye and told her,) "Skye take these and apply them to the wounds on his stomach. You'll also need to apply pressure to the wounds." (Skye nods and replies) "Okay, I got ya." (They both tear open the wrapped packages and started applying the gauze and bandages to his wounds. As Simmons begins to wrap up Streiten's right arm, Coulson turns and takes a step towards Trip and Jaxx and says,) "Alright, once Skye and Simmons finish bandaging up the doc, we make our move; Jaxx, Trip, us 3 will make a path so that Simmons and Skye can take Streiten and make a-"

(Simmons turned to Coulson and said,) "Sir, we can't move Dr. Streiten; not in his current condition." (Coulson turns around, taking a step forward, kneeling down in front of the doctor. As he looked at the severe wounds on his chest, arms, face, neck and legs, he couldn't even begin to imagine how he survived such a vicious assault. Coulson watched as Simmons tried her best to stabilize the doctor, checking his wounds only to see a frantic and frighten look plastered across her face.)

 **(6:25s)** (He had recognized that look, it was the same look she had when she was infected by the Chitauri virus and when she was treating Skye's gunshot wounds. Coulson didn't want to ask, mainly because he already knew the answer, but he had to know which is why he asked Simmons,) "Is there anything that you can do for him?" (Simmons paused briefly, and stopped what she was doing and looked at Dr. Streiten's face.) I'm so sorry Dr. Streiten…

(She soon continued what she was doing, searching through her medical bag while answering her Director's question.) "Well sir, the lacerations on his forearms and legs as well as his face have torn clean through to the muscular tissue, but it's the internal hemorrhaging that has me most concerned. But there's a slim chance that I cou-" (Coulson placed his hand gently on her shoulder, which seemingly caused her to stop talking mid-sentence; it also caused her once again, to stop what she was doing.)

(She looks up at him, and as she stared into his face and then his eyes, she knew that he knew the ugly truth; one which had been staring right at them, but they refused to acknowledge it. His tone was gentle, almost calming when he said,) "Simmons," (She takes a deep breath, as she turns back to the doctor,) I wish there was something I could do, but… (She sighs and states the facts of Dr. Streiten's condition.) "He has multiple severe fractures, including a shattered tibia. He also seems to be hemorrhaging internally which…I'm afraid…I don't have the required tools to stop."

 **(5:45s)** (She looks up at Coulson once more before continuing,) "I'm sorry sir, but all I can do is make him comfortable at this point." There's nothing more I can do… (Coulson understood, as did Trip and Jaxx, even Skye knew what Simmons was saying; Streiten didn't have much time, he would be dead within a few minutes, minutes that they didn't have. The creatures outside was violently pounding against the door, trying desperately to break through; despite both Trip and Jaxx's efforts to brace the makeshift barricade with their bodies, they knew that they couldn't hold them back for long.)

(Coulson stood up and looked around for…anything really. That's when he spotted the door; he pointed to it and asked,) "Where does this door lead?" No clue sir, but it uses a keycar-oh bloody hell, (Simmons quickly stands up and rushes over to the computer terminal, which was still counting down. She stares at the screen for a moment, before retrieving the keycard.) 4 minutes, 33 seconds. (She then quickly runs over to the door and tries swiping the card through the card reader; after a few seconds, nothing happens, so she swipes it again, and again.)

 **(4:15s)** Nothing's happening, what's wrong with this bloody thing!? (She looked down at the keycard and saw what she thought was the problem. Her hands were covered in blood, Streiten's blood, which she seems to have transferred onto the card.) Bloody hell… (She uses the base of her shirt and starts wiping the card clean as much as possible.)

(After a few seconds the blood started to smear across the card itself, but she managed to wipe off the data strip on the card itself; she swipes it one last time and once again she gets the same result.) UGGGHHHH YOU BLOODY PIECE OF— (The anger finally got the better of her, so much so that she slams her palm against the card reader. While she was dealing with her frustration, a fading voice from behind her said) " _That won't work…_ " It can't be!

 **(3:52s)** (Everyone turned almost simultaneously and all looked shocked to see none other than Dr. Streiten, conscious and still able to speak. Simmons immediately rushed over to him, with Coulson quickly following suit. Simmons kneeled at his side, while Coulson knelt down in front of him; for Streiten it was a struggle to stay awake much less speak, yet he managed to do both.) " _I've already tried…that card is…*gasps out in pain* is useless. (_ His eyes were barely open, and yet he still managed to turn his head and look Coulson in the eyes. _) "You shouldn't have come here…agent Coulson *starts to cough, during which some blood spittle's out*._ "

Damn, his condition is worsening and there's not a bloody thing I can do about… (Coulson looked Streiten in the eyes and replied,) "We got word that Hydra had found you and brought you here," (Streiten slowly nodded and after taking in a sharp breath he stated,) " _They…wanted my help replicating the serum that…was used to bring you back…but when I refused-_ " (The distinct sound of wood squeaking and cracking, interrupted the current course of conversation.)

(Trip and Jaxx continued pushing against the barricade, trying their best to keep the creatures at bay, but deep down they knew that they couldn't hold these monstrosities back much longer.) That's not going to hold…there has to be some way out of here, (Streiten knew what was coming and yet he did not fear it, nor his death, instead he turned back to Coulson and told him news of importance.) " _You need to get out of here, all of you, you need to *Gasps out in pain once more* Phil,_ (Coulson, Simmons, and Skye look at the doctor) _you need…the alpha keycard to open that door…Dr. Goodman has it, she's…she's…_ "

(Jaxx's eye's widened, and as he tried to reach inside one of his pouches, the creatures violently slam against the door, causing a chunk of door to go flying off. Jaxx quickly put all of his weight and strength into pushing against the table. Trip stood up and aimed his M1A1 at the newly open hole in the door; he fired off 3 rounds, followed by another 3, before returning to push against the barricade. He looks at Coulson and the others and says,) "Sir, we're running out of time here!"

 **(3:35s)** (Jaxx looks at Coulson and shouts,) "Coulson!" (Both Coulson, Skye, and Simmons look over just in time to see Jaxx pull out a keycard from one of his pouches. He holds it up and shouts,) "This want you're looking for!?" (Afterwards he tosses at Coulson, who quickly catches it; he looks at the ID connected to the card and his eyes widened. Simmons managed to catch a mere glimpse of the card, mainly the name and soon her eyes widened too as she said,) "Dr. Goodman's keycard!? (She looks back at Jaxx who seemed to be struggling.) But how-"

(Coulson quickly stood up and as he rushed over to the card reader next to the secret door he stated,) "Ask how later, right now *he swipes the card through the reader and moments later the door opens, showing a well-lit hallway. He turned to the others and said* we need to move. *He looks at Trip* How much time?" (Trip quickly looks at his watch, then looks back at the Director and replies,) "3 minutes; 8 seconds sir!" There's not enough time, we won't be able to get Dr. Stre- (She looks back at the doctor, after which her expression quickly changes.)

(Coulson rushes back over to Streiten, but looks over at Skye and Simmons and says,) "You two, get the doctor up and start heading in; me, Trip, and Jaxx, we'll be right behind yo-" (He stops when he sees the look on Simmons' face. The look of loss in her eyes could only mean one thing; when he looked at Streiten, laying there against the table, seemingly staring into nothingness, he knew. Simmons looked at him and said with a saddened tone,) "I'm sorry sir…but he's gone."

 **Skye** **(2:45s)**

Oh my god…I'm sorry doc, I'm so sorry. We should've gotten here sooner; if we did then maybe we could've stopped all of this. (Coulson reaches out towards Streiten's face and gently closes the doctor's eyes. He then looked at Simmons then at Skye and says coldly,) "We need to go." I know, it's just, (Coulson, Simmons, and Skye get to their feet, after Skye looks down at the doctor. The discouragement could be heard in her tone when she said,) "It feels wrong AC…*looks over at Coulson* leaving him here like this."

(Coulson gently places his hand on her shoulder and replies,) "Believe me; I know, but right now we need to focus on getting out of here." (Suddenly a fist busts through the door, causing splinters of wood to fly out in all directions. Trip stands up, firing his weapon once again at the newly created hole; that is until the weapon made a clicking sound, meaning that his clip was empty.)

(Trip kneeled down behind the barricade and yelled,) "Reloading!" (a split-second later another fist came through the door and grabbed the barrel of Trip's rifle; it literally pulled it out of his hands, all the while he watched as it disappeared into the darkness behind the door. A moment later the creature throws Trip's rifle back into the room with one major adjustment; everyone couldn't help but notice that the barrel was now literally bent downward, curving almost like a pretzel.)

(Trip said,) "Well, that just happened." Holy crap! This is so not good! (The creatures were starting to push against the door, which in turn caused the barricade to start sliding forward, despite Jaxx and Trip's best efforts. Jaxx looked up at the team and said,) "*grunts* Now would be a good time to run for it!" I'm going to say yeah.

 **(2:15s)**

(Coulson looks at Simmons and Skye and shouts,) "Skye, Simmons, get going; we'll be right behind you!" You better AC; because I'm not losing you to those things out there… (Simmons is the first to run into the secret passageway, followed quickly by Skye. Coulson turns to Jaxx and Trip; he lifts his M1A1 and aims it at the door, firing through the broken and splintered door. He then shouts over the gunfire,) "You two; you're next!"

(Skye follows Simmons into a room which appeared to be riddled with various rubber tubing, needles, and the like. The two looked around briefly before they turned back around and waited by the passageway for the rest of their team.) C'mon guys, any time now… (The sound of gunfire suddenly stopped, but was followed quickly by Trip turning and rushing through the passageway, followed by Coulson.)

(A moment later Jaxx turns around the corner and starts to sprint down the hall, just as both Trip and Coulson make it into the room. Seconds later the sound of gears screeching within the walls of the passageway was heard by all and moments after the metal door behind Jaxx started sliding closed. Jaxx was a little more than halfway down the hall when he suddenly stopped; seemingly for no reason he just stood there, breathing heavily, staring at the team in front of him.) Why'd he stop? He knows that we're running out of time, so why the HELL did he stop!?

(The door was nearly closed, just a few more minutes and the team would be home free of those things, and yet Jaxx simply stood there. Coulson shouted at him,) "Jaxx, what are you-" (Suddenly the door came to a sudden halt; the team heard metal scrapping and grinding within the walls, as if the gears were being strained. Jaxx tilted his head to the left, no one knew why, no one except Coulson; Jaxx's eyes shot up towards Coulson's, which is when the Director saw the look in his eyes.)

 **(1:45s)** (The gears responsible for controlling the door were grinding even louder than before, during which they saw something unprecedented. 4 fingers suddenly appeared, grabbing the edge of the metal door; these were not ordinary fingers, no these were dark grey with black fingernails. Everyone's eyes widened, everyone except Jaxx who slowly turned his head to the right, peeking out of the corner of his eye. The door itself was nearly 8 inches thick titanium reinforced steel, and had nearly 400 lbs. of hydraulic force behind it, and yet it took less than a second for the creature to use its strength to force open the door.)

(As it slowly gave way to the creature's sheer inhuman strength, the door suddenly jams, nearly half way. After a moment, Jaxx turned around, facing towards the direction of the creature itself, and waited. The creature tried, but was unable budge the door any further, which was a slight relief to the team; so much so that Skye commented,) "Well, I think that just bought us some time," Hopefully long enough to- (The creature once again lets out a blood-curdling roar, just before grabbing the door with its other hand and proceeded to bend the door outwards.)

"Or not…" (Skye's retort couldn't hide the fact that she, and her team, were in way over they're heads. Skye continues watching as the creature nearly finishes bending the door, and at the same time she asked her Director,) "What the hell are we supposed to do now!? Our bullets won't stop him and he's almost done bending that door into a taco!" (Coulson turned to her and replied simply,) "Keep calm, we'll figure something out; we always do."

Keep calm? Sorry AC, but calm jumped out the freakin window when that thing started folding the door in half. And on top of that, we're about to be blown the fuck up and everything that's happened; is courtesy of Hail freakin Hydra…Worst…Day…Ever. (It's true that time was running out for the team, and their situation was only made worse when the creature started to step into the passage with Jaxx.)

(Jaxx quickly checked his clip for his P90, and upon ejecting it he saw that it was in fact empty. He shook his head and mumbled to himself,) "Crap," (He tossed the clip off to the side, and reached down, pulling his pistol from its holster. Once again, he ejects the clip only to see that it too had no bullets. He lets out a heavy, disappointing sigh and mumbles to himself again,) "Crappity crap, crap."

 **(1:20s)** (Jaxx tilts his head back, drops his arms to his sides, and closes his eyes for a moment. He could have gone anywhere he thought to himself, but instead he was here; trying to help an old friend find closure for his troubles. The creature stopped just a few feet in front of Jaxx and just when the team thought that their troubles couldn't get any worse; that is when another two creatures suddenly appeared in the room behind the first creature.)

(They too entered the passageway, stopping just a few inches behind their leader.) Great that's just…freakin perfect, I mean it's not like we don't have enough problems to deal with. (The creatures snarled at both Jaxx and the team looking ready to attack. Skye quickly retrieved her pistol, clicked the safety off and took aim at the creatures.)

These things were people once; maybe there's still a part of them still left…NO! I can't think like that, not now. It's them, or us that's all there is to it. (Coulson and Trip checked their magazines, only to find that Coulson was running low on ammunition while Trip had 2 magazines left, one of which he was currently in the process of placing into his M4A1. Skye glanced over at Simmons, who had also retrieved her own pistol, but had yet to aim it at the creatures.)

Well I guess we're ready for a fight, now if only Jaxx would get the hell out of- (Skye looked back just in time to see Jaxx tossed both the pistol and the clip to either side. Afterwards he unclipped his P90 and slowly knelt down to place the gun on the ground. No one had any clue as to what Jaxx was actually doing, but the creatures seemed uneasy and grew more and more agitated with each passing second. Jaxx knew what they were planning, and he knew what he had to do.)

 **(1:05s)** (Jaxx had spotted the control panel on the wall opposite of Coulson and the rest of his team; he slowly turned his head to the left in order to take one last look at the team. Even from a distance, Skye could tell that he was planning something, but she wasn't sure what exactly.) What the hell is he up to? He needs to stop screwing around and get going; we're not exactly good on time here.

(Jaxx looks at Simmons who looks confused, and with a heartfelt tone he said,) "Jem, I'm sorry…" Why is he…? (Skye looked at Simmons, who wasn't confused like Skye, mainly because she had seen that look before, which only terrified her. Her tone was filled with desperation as she said,) "No, no Jaxx don't you dare do this to me!" What the hell are you two talking about? What is he doing…? (She looked at Jaxx once more and after looking at his eyes a second time, she suddenly saw what Simmons did.)

No, no screw that! That's not happening; I'm not goi- (The next few moments seemed to blur together; Jaxx had a hidden knife tucked away, hidden inside his boot, that he grabbed. In one fluid motion he turned around and threw the knife; the serrated blade whooshed by, narrowly missing both Coulson and Skye faces, and connected with its target. Everyone briefly turned around, only to see a control panel behind them firing shooting sparks all around it; all because of a simple, yet well aimed serrated blade.)

 **(0:50s)** Holy Shit! That was one helluva- (The door in front of them suddenly closed shut. Simmons eyes widened as total and utter fear struck her at her very core. Skye was in complete shock,) What the, no, no, no this is not happening! (Simmons started pounding on the door screaming at the top of her lungs,) "NO JAXX! PLEASE NO *crying* PLEASE DON'T DO THIS, PLEASE NO!"

(Skye tried to find a crease in the door, hoping that maybe she and the others could pry it open. Time was running out and even though Skye and Simmons knew this, they didn't care. Meanwhile Coulson ran over to the panel, followed by Trip and examined it; Coulson looked at Trip and desperately asked,) "Can you fix it!?" (Skye looked back and saw Trip remove the knife from the control panel, which caused even more sparks to shoot out.)

 **(0:45s)** (Trip assesses the damage, and looks back at Coulson and replies,) "The panel is completely fried, sir." Damnit, why the hell did he do that!? C'mon, c'mon there has to be something here that can pry this door open… (Skye turned around; looking for anything that could help her pries the door open, even if only a little. However, it soon became apparent to her as she looked around, that there would be nothing here of any use.)

Whoa… (Skye walked to the center of the room, where there were 3 glass chambers, which lined up to form a triangle pattern. Next to them was various medical equipment such as EKG's and the like, which seemed to be monitoring CO2 levels within the chamber. Skye also spotted some sort of blood infuser or something conveniently placed within the center of the 3 chambers. Skye walked over to it, to take a closer look,) What the fuck is this thing?

 **(0:35s)** (Skye saw a latch in the middle of the machine; as she reached out and opened the latch, a cold almost frozen like mist came pouring out. Once the mist had settled she was able to see some sort vial inside the chamber itself. The vial was being held in place by two metal hooks, but what she found most curious was the dark blue liquid held within.)

(So against her better judgment she reached out with her hand and slowly and gently slid the vial out from between the hooks. The vial itself felt ice cold in the palm of her hand, and yet it wasn't a concern for her at the moment. Holding the frost covered vial her hands, she started turning it as if looking for something specific. That's when she spotted the label, but at the moment it was covered in a thin sheet of frost. She used her thumbs to wipe away the frost; afterwards she could see the words clear as day. She mumbled to herself,) "HH.327…?"

 **(0:30s)** Wait a sec…this has to be what those Hydra scientist were working- (Suddenly from her left someone shouts,) "SKYE, SIMMONS WE NEED TO MOVE, NOW!" (Skye looks over and sees Coulson standing next to a door, one with yet another card reader. He quickly swipes the card through the reader and as the door starts to open a near-blinding light started shining into the room. Coulson had to briefly shield his eyes until they had adjusted, but once they did he saw quite a sight.)

 **(0:25s)** (He turns to the others and shouts,) "WE NEED GET OUT BEFORE THIS PLACE BLOWS UP WITH US IN IT!" Wait what about- (Skye turns around and sees Simmons still pounding and yelling at the door. Trip rushed over to her, wrapped both arms around her waist and as he started to pull her away he said,) "Sorry Jemma, but we need to go!" (Simmons started thrashing about, trying to free herself from Trip's hold while shouting,) "NO, WE CAN'T! HE'S STILL IN THERE; WE HAVE TO SAVE HIM! PLEASE LET GO!"

 **(0:20s)** (Trip pulled her towards the exit, meanwhile Skye frantically unclipped her pack and quickly reached inside. Trip and Simmons were the first to go through the exit, meanwhile Coulson looked back at Skye; who had pulled out a bandana and started wrapping it around the vial. As Skye quickly placed the vial securely in her pack, Coulson rushed over to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and says.) "What part of we need to go now do you not understand!?"

 **(0:15s)** I'm going, I'm just making sure Hydra doesn't get their grubby hands on this. (Coulson helped Skye to her feet and the two made their way to the doorway. **(0:10s)** (They sprinted down the passageway, and with each step the light from the outside got brighter and brighter.) **(0:07s)** Crap we're cutting it close! **(0:05s)** (Coulson and Skye find Trip and Simmons waiting for them at the other end. **(0:04s)** As the two make it out they find themselves at the edge of a cliff, next to a waterfall.)

 **(0:03s)** You have got to be freaking kidding me!? (It was a long drop, not to mention dangerous, yet Coulson saw no other choice. **(0:02s)** Coulson glanced at his team before looking down and saying,) "No other choice!" I'm starting to really hate these freaking jungles man! **(0:01s)** (All of them jump at once, just as the timer hit **(0:00s)**.


	11. Ep1 Ch4 Crucible pt3

**Disclaimer: Sorry for the long wait but I've had other projects that needed tending to as well as matters of a personal nature. I had wanted this to be the last chapter in this story but since I haven't posted anything in well over a month I decided it was way past due. Hopefully the next chapter will end this particular story, and I would like to thank all of you for your show of support for this story, I really do appreciate it. Tell me what you think and let me know if there is anything that is confusing or doesn't make any sense and I'll get to as fast as possible. I do not own any MCU characters just my own crazy imagination and also rest in peace Jaxx. Enjoy.**

A pillar of fire expelled out of the passageway followed quickly by bits of debris just as Coulson and company leapt off the cliff, into the unknown; seconds later the facility itself exploded sending flaming debris the size of small car's soaring into the jungle and down into rushing rapids below. The self-destruct sequence placed within the facility days earlier had done its job. Fire started engulfing what remained of the facility, which also meant that any trace of Hydra's experimentations had been destroyed.

Between the raging fire and the facility slowly collapsing in on itself, it seemed extremely unlikely that anyone or thing, could have survived such carnage and destruction. Yet Coulson and his team seemed to manage an escape but not without great cost. Agent Shaw, a great agent and a great friend to agent Coulson, sacrificed his life to get vital information to the one organization he trusted most above all others, S.H.I.E.L.D.

Dr. Streiten, one of only a handful of doctors that was responsible for bringing Coulson back from death; that day has haunted him ever since, so much so that he too paid with his life. Jaxx was friend, colleague, brother and so much more, is now the most recent casualty in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s war against Hydra. His loss is a heavy burden to bear, and yet he too was willing to sacrifice his life to save those most precious to him; though he wasn't much for showing his true emotions, his sacrifice spoke volumes.

Unfortunately, despite all the loss and a daring leap of faith, the survivor's lives were still in danger. When they leapt off the cliff they landed in a large deep pond which quickly turned into violent, rushing rapids. Despite their best efforts they were being pushed and pulled every which way; during the confusion some of the members of the team got separated from the others, pushing them downstream where the rapids had split into two, the left path and the right. God only knows where each one would end up, or if any would survive such an event.

 **18 minutes later**

When the rapids split off, the two paths lead to two very different locations; the left leads and eventually ends at yet another waterfall, which in turn spills into this lustrous cove. Vibrant trees and dense foliage surround the cove from all sides making it essentially invisible to those ignorant of its very existence. The animals which call this place home come here to drink from the fresh water brought in by the waterfall; others come here for the exotic fruit that grows from trees, but not today.

The few that have come to the cove seem more skittish than usual, scared even; none dared go near the water, as if they sensed that there something was off, or that some sort of danger was close by. Suddenly, the animals perked up as if they sensed that something was coming. They scatter, rushing back into the jungle, moments later…

 **Skye**

*Breathing heavily* HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! (Her efforts to swim against the rapids yielded little results. The sheer force, speed, and strength of the water rushing around and over her are too overwhelming. All she could do is keep her head above water and keep from drowning. She looked around for anything to grab a hold of, during which she saw another unexpected sight. She yelled out,) "NO, NO, NO-"

(She launches forth from the top of the waterfall and plummets down into the pond before she even has a chance to finish yelling, but she did manage to inhale some air during her flight. With only seconds to spare, Skye holds her breathe as she dives feet first into the crystal-clear water below. To her, it seemed like she was underwater for nearly 5 minutes, when in reality only a few seconds had passed.)

(Her mind was blank as she started frantically swimming upward, trying desperately to reach the surface. In less than 5 seconds, she broke through to the surface, and exhaled heavily the last bit of air she had. She frantically looked around, in the hopes of seeing someone, anyone from her team. During her frantic search she shouted,) "COULSON!? TRIP; SIMMONS…ANYONE!?"

Please be okay, (She looked to her left and saw some dry land not too far from her and without hesitation she started swimming towards it. It wasn't long before she found solid ground under her feet; once she got sturdy footing she preceded lug her and her water soaked clothes and pack onto the shore and after a few steps she drops to her knees.) *breathing heavily* Son of a bitch…well, I guess I can check White Water Rafting off of my to-do list. Never, ever doing that again.

(She took a moment to collect herself, during which her eyes enlarged and a look of concern was plastered on her face. She mumbled to herself while she started unclipping the pack,) "Oh no; no, no, no, please don't be-" (She swung the pack around to her front and checked the front pouch on her pack. After a few seconds, she pulls out what she was looking for, but now she looked disappointed.)

Damnit, it's soaked. *sighs* let's hope that some of the files are still intact, otherwise…no don't think like that; think happy thoughts. (She turned around and sat on the leaf-covered ground and took a better, less frantic look at her surroundings.) I don't see Coulson, or Trip…or Simmons for that matter; "*Still breathing heavily* Coulson…Trip…Simmons…where the hell are you?" (Skye mumbles.)

(She spots a tree off to her left, for which she quickly turns and leans against. As the adrenaline was starting to wear off she started feeling the exhaustion start kicking in. She tilts her head back, resting it against the tree; her eyelids felt heavy, and every blink lasted a bit longer the previous.) I'm exhausted; I can't even keep my eyes open, but I can't rest, I need to… (Her eyelids closed one last time and stayed closed; she was finally drifting off to sleep, until…)

*Loud, heavy splashing sound* (Her body jerked forward just as her eyes snaps open; quickly looking to her right, she spotted the point of impact and watched as the water rippled outward.) What the hell is it now? (Skye quickly stood up and took cover behind the tree; she reached for the gun that she had stuck in her pants behind her back, only to find it missing. Her eyes enlarged,) SHIT, SHIT, SHIT; WHERE IS IT!?

(Panic started creeping in as she started frantically around her for her one and only weapon. After searching for a bit, she stopped,) The rapids must've… Shit!? (She looks over to her left only to find nothing but leaves and dirt; she then looks over to her right, seeing only a thick branch hidden underneath some leaves.) Seriously!?

(She looks back at the pond, just in time air bubbles rising to the surface, and shortly after she saw the blurred image of someone or thing swimming up towards the surface. Skye shakes her, and says,) "Guess it's better than nothing," (Skye looked down and snatches up the thick branch, just as the something breaks through the pond's surface. Skye quickly stood up, tightly gripping the branch to the point where she could feel the wood start to dig into her hands.)

(However, when she saw what it was splashing around frantically in the pond, her eyes enlarged.) Holy shit… (Skye lowers the would-be weapon and excitedly shouts out,) "SIMMONS!" (Simmons turns to her left, and spots Skye standing there on the shore; after which she exclaims,) "SKYE!" (Before either one could utter another word, Skye drops the makeshift weapon and starts rushing over to the edge of the shore.)

(Simmons started swimming towards her friend, while Skye runs into the pond until she got about waist deep and reached out her hand. Once she was close enough, Simmons grabbed her friends' hands and with every ounce of strength she had; Skye pulled her friend up to her feet and the two started making their way to shore. They're feet splashed water all about until they finally made it to solid ground. They didn't stop, not until Skye helped walk Simmons over to the tree, sitting her gently down against it.)

(Simmons laid her head against the tree and closes her eyes, while Skye flopped down onto her knees in front of her friend. Both took a moment to catch their breaths, unfortunately there was little time for it. Skye looked at her friend and placed her hand on Simmons' shoulder and asks without thinking.) "Are you okay?" Wow, did I really just ask her that?

 **Simmons**

(Simmons opens her eyes and lifted her head off of the tree, and expressed her annoyance at Skye's obviously ridiculous question by giving her a simple stare. When Skye saw the look her friend was giving her she quickly back-tracked by stating,) "Sorry; stupid question; *looks down at the ground and mumbles to herself* of course you're not all right."

(Simmons' look of annoyance quickly dissipated. She knew all too well what her friend was talking about, more specifically, who. In her mind, she immediately shot back to that moment; standing there in that room, staring down the passageway at Jaxx, who was just kneeling there in front of those creatures. Suddenly he turns to her and speaks; only there are no words only silence, and once his lips stop moving, his arm shoots up and less than a second later the security door starts to close.)

(The last few seconds seemed to slow to a crawl as the door slowly inches closed; then, suddenly out of nowhere she hears someone screaming out, but she wasn't sure who, perhaps it was Skye. After what seemed like an eternity, the door finally closes shut and once more she heard a scream, the same scream as before. It was at that moment when she figured that…it was her; she was the one screaming out.)

(Simmons was so enthralled by that memory that she had not noticed that Skye was trying to get her attention. Luckily Skye's voice managed to break through, bringing her back to reality, before her mind could replay that tragic event over again once more. Simmons saw the concern and sorrow in Skye's brown doe-like eyes, and she knew what was coming next.) "Simmons…are you okay?" (Skye asks.)

I wish I could tell you that I was Skye I really do, but…I just…no; there's no time for that, not now. (Simmons smiled half-heartedly and replied,) "I'm good Skye, well, aside from a few scrapes and bruises that is." (Skye appeared relived after hearing Simmons' words; Skye smiled back and replied sarcastically,) "That's good, *mumbles to under her breathe* really good." She bought it, good; now, our next priority should be straight forward enough.

(Skye looked over at the crystal clear pond then up at the waterfall; seconds later she asks,) "Do you think Coulson and Trip are okay?" (She turns to Simmons who sat there for a moment, trying to figure out what to say ;) Well, they appeared okay when I last saw them; just before the rapids split us apart, but god only knows where they've ended up or if they're even okay.

But of course I can't very well tell her that now can I? Regardless, we need to find them and get back to the transport. (Simmons looks back at Skye and says reassured-ly that,) "I'm sure that they're just as banged up as we are, but alive nonetheless." (Skye breathes a sigh of relief and looks back out at the pond once more.) I'm guessing that she really needed to hear that; if only I could reassure her that everything will be alright, because honestly; deep down, nothing will ever be right again.

After everything that has happened, Skye thought it best to catch their breath for few minutes before starting their searching for their missing friends; Simmons was so exhausted from her own trip down the rapids that she didn't even attempt to argue. Skye sat on the ground, hugging her knees against her chest while Simmons continued leaning against the tree, both contemplating the tragic events of recent hours. Eventually, after a few minutes of peaceful yet haunting silence, they formulated a plan. They would trek around to the other side of the pond, and head deeper into the rainforest; hopefully they would find where the other half of the rapids broke off and hopefully to find Coulson and Trip there waiting.

Skye gathered up her pack and started going through it, taking out and leaving behind anything that was of no use or that would weigh her down on her travel. Meanwhile, Jemma saw that her own pack had floated up to the surface of the pond; she slowly made her way back into the water and mumbling to herself as she made her way to the middle of the pond. Skye's bag was soaked, which meant that every electronic device that she had inside was now useless.

She tossed these water-soaked devices aside and finds a soaked bandana at the bottom of her bag. Skye had completely forgot about having with her; she looked frantically at Simmons, who was still wading through the pond to get her pack. Her eyes widened as she looked back at the bandana, slowly unfolding it. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the vial was still intact, and she even smiled a bit. Yet as she looked back up at Simmons who finally managed to grab her pack and was starting to make her way to shore.

Thousands of thoughts and scenarios started running through her mind, but each ended with less than desirable results; she finally decided that it's best for the time being to keep this under wraps, at least until they're safe on the transport back to the Playground. She quickly wrapped it back up and hid it away in the bottom of her pack. Soon they were off, traveling straight into the rainforest for nearly 8 minutes now. It seemed like the farther they traveled inward, the more intense the heat became.

Beads of sweat continuously dripped from Skyes' face; she had only been walking for a few minutes, but she already felt exhausted as she wiped away the sweat for the 5th time.

 **10 minutes later**

 **Skye**

For crying out-*sighs*-can't we get a break from this freakin heat? (Skye shakes her head, mainly because she already knew the answer to her question.) I never thought, *gulps dryly* that I'd miss nearly drowning in the nice, cool rapids. (Skye sluggishly reaches behind her, grabbing her canteen; she had filled up with water from the waterfall before their departure. She twists off the lid, presses the metal lip against hers and takes a swig.)

I'd prefer a nice ice-cold beer, but it'll do. (Skye takes yet another swig from her canteen.) Damn, I really needed that. (Afterwards she realized that the canteen was already a little under halfway-full.) Crap; I've gotta take it easy on the drinking; I've gotta save some for when we find AC and Trip, just in case. (She looks at Simmons who is just a few feet in front of her, and then looks quickly at the canteen before looking back at her friend.)

Simmons almost lost her gear when we went for that wacky, wild ride; including her canteen. She has to be thirsty… (She quickly catches up to her friend and holds the canteen out in front of her friend and says.) "Simmons, here…" (Simmons glances at the canteen then at her friend; she shakes her head and holds up her hand and replies,) "That's kind of you to offer, but I'm actually not thirsty."

Not thirsty, really? Your face is literally covered in sweat, dripping even and you're not thirsty…right. (Skye reaches out with her other hand and gently grabs Simmons by the arm and the two stop. Skye looks her friend in the eyes and states,) "Simmons c'mon…you haven't hand a drink since we left that pond and at our current pace, you'll be de-hydrated before we even come close to finding Coulson or Trip. So please just…take a sip; one little sip."

(Skye was right and Simmons knew it, but wasn't willing to admit as much. The biochemist knew that at her current pace that she would be de-hydrated in less than 5 minutes; she could feel her body temperature rising. She stared at the canteen, her mind started picturing the cool refreshing water swishing around inside. The temptation was too much for her to stand, Simmons reluctantly took the canteen. She looked at her friend and replying with.)

"Alright, fine; but really Skye I'm fine." (Simmons raises the canteen up to her mouth and tilts it just enough. She took one gulp of the cool refreshing water and just as it finished funneling down her throat she took another, and another. After one last gulp, Simmons lowered the canteen down and closed her eyes briefly.)

(She smiled, but only for a moment; afterwards she opens her eyes and sees Skye staring at her, sporting mischievous grin. Skye playfully mocks Simmons, saying.) "Thirsty are we?" (Simmons chuckled a bit as she screw the lid back on, afterwards she said.) "Sorry; I guess I was thirstier than I thought."

(Simmons hands the canteen back to her friend, who upon receiving it noticed that the canteen felt lighter than before. She tilts the canteen back and forth, hearing only the slightest sound of water splashing about inside. Skye looked at her friend and once again playfully mocked her friend by saying,) "I wouldn't have guessed."

(Simmons tried to hide her embarrassment behind an awkward chuckle, but Skye could see right through it. As she started putting away her canteen, Simmons turned and spotted a hill about 25 meters ahead. Skye took this moment to look her friend over,) She looks exhausted, hell, I'm exhausted. If she continues pushing herself like this, she'll blackout for sure. And on top of that we have this ungodly heat smacking away at us and we're low on water. God, I hate freakin jungles.

(Before she could speak a word, Simmons turned to her and said meekly,) "We should really keep moving, *wipes her mouth* I mean, god only knows what kind of trouble could be skulking around out here." (The sound of a twig snapping interrupted their conversation. Simmons turns to her left, and Skye to her right; both froze in place, somewhat panicking as they waited to see who or what it was.)

(After a few seconds, they see a small bird shoot up from the ground into the air, landing on the branch of a tree just a few meters away. Skye breathed a sigh of relief, thrilled that it wasn't another one of those monsters from the facility waiting for them. She looked back at Simmons, expecting to see the same look of relief, but found something unsuspected instead. Simmons was just standing there staring at the bird as it pecked at its' own feathers.)

(Skye recognized the look on her friends' face, the combination of grief and disappointment. Every morning it's plastered across her face, usually right after visiting Fitz in his hospital room. But this look wasn't for him; it was for someone else entirely.) She can't help but think about…what happened…back there.

(Skye gently placed her hand on Simmons' shoulder, which caused her to flinch a bit, which snapped her out of trance-like state; she saw the look Skye in the eyes. Skye's voice was soft and sincere when she said.) "I'm so sorry Jemma, for what…for what happened to-" (Simmons interjected before Skye could finish uttering her fallen brother's name.) "No time for that now. We have a mission to complete, remember?"

(Skye was taken aback by her friends' somewhat harsh tone, until she looked into Simmons' eyes and that's when she saw it; the pain, the anger, it was all there, trying to boiling over, trying to consume her.) That look, it's the same look I have every time I look in the mirror and think about Ward…and what he had done. All I wanted to do was focus on the next mission or anything else besides Ward; just like Simmons was feeling right now about...him.

(Understanding this, Skye nodded and replied meekly,) "Yea right, totally." (The two share a half-hearted smile, before continuing their trek onward. Neither one spoke another word as they trek over and under trees, with only the sound of leaves crunching and twigs snapping under the pressure of their boots could be heard. Simmons kept glancing at her surroundings, which Skye couldn't help but notice.)

(However, her mind was on other things, such as trying to get Simmons to open up, to help her accept what happened.) Last time I tried talking to her about Jaxx, she shut me down pretty damn quick. Can't blame her though, I mean he was her family, and from the way she looked at him… I could always tell her about the serum that I took from the facility, but…no, I can't bring that up, not now.

(Minutes passed by seamlessly, without a single word being uttered.) This has got to be the longest that I've gone without speaking, like ever. (Her eyes drifted to her left, until she was staring at Simmons whom was still looking around curiously. Simmons slowly looked from left to right, eventually meeting Skye's eyes; the two share an awkward 5 second long glance, followed by Skye smiling awkwardly before looking away.) That was awkward, definitely. "Are you alright Skye?" (Skye looked over at Simmons, and for a moment she was stunned by the unexpected question.)

(Skye managed to shake it off and answer her friends' question.) "Me, I'm-I'm fine, I mean *stammering* I'm good or not good, but not bad either I'm…somewhere in-between y'know…?" Wow, that was just…bad. (Skye knew that she wasn't very convincing, not in the least. Yet that seemed to give her a jolt, one that helped her finally confront her friend, asking her.) "How 'bout you; how are you feeling?"

 **Simmons**

(Simmons glanced at her friend for a few seconds before looking ahead. She'd been expecting that question ever since they met back with each other at the waterfall. Even though she suspected it, she was unsure how to answer it; part of her wanted to avoid the question entirely and focus on finding Director Coulson and agent Triplett.)

(The other part however, just wanted to breakdown right there, to unbury her rage and anguish at what had transpired and scream at the top of her lungs.) How am I feeling…? My world has been shattered, my friend is lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life and my brother is…gone. Oh god, he can't be gone, he just can't…there is not a single word or even a collection of words that can describe how I'm feeling.

(Her mind shot her back to a few single moments in time, one of which was her and Fitz laughing while sitting next to the indoor pool, the other was of when she was younger, back before she joined S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.)

 _Most days in her household she got up, brushed her teeth, got dressed and went down to enjoy breakfast with the family. Her mum and dad waited for her downstairs, her mum making scrambled eggs and French toast while her dad brewed a fresh pot of coffee. She'd sit down next to her dad and enjoy her meal and listened to them talk about their latest breakthroughs in their respected fields. After finishing, her mum would walk her to the bus stop and wait with her until it came; they'd wave goodbye to each other, after which she'd step unto the bus and watch her mother smiling at her as the door closed._

 _Her parents and most of her teachers called her a genius, due mainly to the fact that her test scores and IQ are way above average for someone her age. And per-recommendation from her teachers and the school district, she quickly became a senior in high school within the year. However, it didn't take her long to regret her decision to advance further in her studies. The seniors were anything but nice to her, for as soon as the bus left the curb, it quickly became a living nightmare. Walking down the aisle of the bus was treacherous as she was constantly tripped by someone's foot, while others simply made insulting remarks or call her names._

 _At school, a few of the local jocks would knock her study books out of her hand, spilling them on the floor. A few students would threaten her for her lunch money, which is why she started filling up on breakfast. Her torment didn't end until the bus dropped her off at her house, everything after was bliss by comparison. She had thought about telling her parents, but decided against it, thinking that it would only make things worse for her._

 _After a while she accepted the fact that the seniors wouldn't or couldn't look past the fact that she was smarter than them, though she would never tell them that to their faces. This was her typical week, her typical life that is until 3 months ago when they brought home a 15 year old boy. After about a week or two he had finally settled in with Simmons and her family, he even decided on a name, Jaxx; during his stay he proved that he was just as smart as Simmons and so he attended school as a senior right alongside her. The first time she noticed a change is on his first day; he had walked her to the bus stop and followed her on and as soon as the doors closed everyone went silent._

 _She was used to them glaring at her, giving her looks of disgust, but this time was different. This time they were looking at him, their eyes filled with uncertainty as they measured him from head to toe. As they walked to the back, one snaggly-tooth boy reached out to try and pull on her ponytail, only to have his hand quickly grabbed by her new friend. The senior's eyes met Jaxx's, who gave him a look that caused the senior to go pale. Jaxx then leaned in close and whispered something to him, afterwards he let go of the boy's hand and stared at him for a few seconds more._

 _Everyone could see the look of fear growing in the boy's eyes, and after seeing this, he took Simmons gently by the hand and the two made their way to the back. Ever since that day everything changed. The seniors stopped bullying her and causing her grief which in turn helped her focus more on her studies. Also everyday Jaxx would get up in the morning and make breakfast for everyone; she'd assumed that this was his way of saying thank you for taking him in._

 _Today was a special day, for it was Simmons 13_ _th_ _birthday. She barely slept all at all the night before, so it was no surprise when she came rushing downstairs only to be greeted by her parents and Jaxx. The highlight of that day, to her at least, was the two presents Jaxx had gotten her. One was the first 3 seasons of Dr. Who and the second was a promise; the promise being that no matter where he was or what he was doing, that he'd always be there for her, always._

 _That was the first day that she had felt whole for the first time and it was also the first day that she thought of him as her brother…_

(That is where her memory decidedly ends, bringing her back to the cruel reality before her. Her stomach was in knots, and with the force of a flood, her emotions rushed forth and that's when it all became too much.) Oh god…Jaxx… (Simmons vision started to blur as her eyes started to well up; she closed her eyes and started mentally cursing herself as she tried and failed to keep the tears at bay.) Damnit! Not now, not here, I have to- (She dropped to hers knees as the tears flowed freely down her cheek; she had lost so much already that she couldn't bear it, so much so that she simply wanted to sit there on her knees, whimpering and crying.)

(Seconds had passed when she suddenly felt someone's hand on her shoulder; she looks up to see Skye kneeling down in front of her, her eyes welling up as a single tear streaks down her face. Skye too had tried to keep it together, but found that she was unable to as well. Skye said with a grief-stricken tone,) "Jemma, it's okay, it's-" (Skye sits down next to her friend, holding her close as Simmons rested her head on her shoulder. she rested her head on top of Simmons'. Skye placed her cheek gently on Simmons' hair, as the two started to rock subtly back and forth in unison. All Skye could do was hold her friend tightly and help her thru this the best way that she could.)

A moment like this was bound to happen, it just happened sooner rather than later, but luckily Skye and Simmons had each other to fall back on. It would by no means be easy for them to accept such a loss; Skye had only met him today, but still it felt like a punch in the gut to see someone, a potential friend, sacrifice themselves' like that. For Simmons however, it was going to hurt long after they leave here; to her, losing Jaxx was like losing both a friend and a brother and it was as painful as raw nerve being dipped in salt.

It took some time, but eventually the weight of all the emotions that were weighing them down seemed to dissipate with each passing second. There would still be bits of hate, fear, and sorrow leftover, but it would be manageable. 15 minutes had rushed by them, but by then Simmons seemed all cried out and a bit better; she was still mourning Jaxx's loss, but it hurt less so than before. Both wiped the dried tears from their faces, after which they stood up and continued moving forward. Despite today's tragic events, they still had one last mission to complete and they were more determined than ever to see it to completion. No words were spoken, no speeches given just a simple unspoken promise; they looked one another in the eyes, and unspoken promise was made. That Jaxx's sacrifice would not be in vain, that his death would not be for nothing, but most importantly; Simmons made a personal vow, one that she promised to keep, no matter what it would cost her.

 **Location: Unknown**

 **45 minutes later**

Their search was slow going, hindered by both the dense trees for which they had to push through and by the blistering heat of the mid-day sun. They had pushed themselves and their bodies to the point of pure and utter exhaustion, which is why they decided to rest for a while before continuing forward. Simmons legs felt weak and hollow, she could barely stand much less walk another step or mile. She slowly lowered herself down to the ground, leaning her back against an uprooted tree which seemed to have fallen some time ago. Skye had wanted to stay standing, but the soles of her feet felt like they were being pricked by hundreds of needles.

She unclipped the pack and gently lowered it to the ground as she took a seat next to her friend. Both were drenched in sweat and both were exhausted beyond measure; though they'd never say it to one another, each one started having doubts about finding either the friends or the transport. Skye had decided that the two of them should rest for a while, and despite the fact that they were losing precious time, Simmons conceded. Meanwhile, as they rested their weary bones and strained muscles, something was lurking, watching the two from the dense foliage just a few feet behind them.

It watched them, listened and waited; Skye and Simmons were oblivious to its presence as Skye reached for her canteen, taking a quick sip before passing off to Simmons. She too took a quick sip and handed back to her friend shortly after. It stayed there, hidden like a chameleon, watching them with those pale, cold, soulless eyes. It would announce itself soon, but not now, no; it would study them further, to find the perfect moment then and only then would it finally take its prey.

 **Skye**

(It had been a little over 5 minutes since either one had said a word, even so the tension had seemingly disappeared. While Skye sat there pondering on the events of the day, Simmons leaned her head back resting it against the tree behind her. Skye looked over at her friend, who was staring off into the trees watching a group of birds flutter about. She couldn't help but smile a bit as two of the birds started chirping in unison; seeing her smile seemed to brighten Skyes' own mood.)

Despite everything that's happened, she still able to find something that makes her smile; even if it's only for a little while, it's good to have the old Simmons back. (Seconds later, Simmons closed her eyes and after a few more seconds of silence, her smile grew; after that Simmons started chuckling without rhyme or reason. Simmons lifted her head up, opened her eyes and looked at Skye, who couldn't help but think,) Alrighty then…I think she's finally snapped.

(In Skye's mind, she thought her friend was starting to feel overwhelmed once again, which is why she asked with a concerning tone.) "Simmons, are you okay?" (Simmons was still sporting that gleeful smile on her face, but she managed to contain her chuckling. She nodded and replied simply,) "It's kind of you to ask Skye but I'm fine, really. It's just…*she looks up once again, staring at the sun beams creeping in through the trees* being out here, it reminds me of the time when I first met Jaxx."

(Skye had heard quite a bit about Jaxx, mainly though it was rumors and legends about his secret alter-ego, The Sword; she had yet to hear anything about how Jaxx and Simmons actually met, much less about their childhood. Needless to say, Skye was quite intrigued.) I've heard a lot 'bout him being 'The Sword', but no one has told me how Simmons and Jaxx actually met. (Skye asks, unable to hide her curiosity.) "Yea bout that,"

(Simmons shook head, feeling reluctant to tell her.) "I shouldn't, I mean it's not exactly my story to tell-" (Skye teasingly replied,) "Oh come on, don't leave me hanging. *whispers* Pretty please…" (Simmons looks away for a moment, and lets out sigh. She then turns back to her friend and says,) "Okay fine," YES! Finally, Jaxx's origin story, this is going to be fun. (Skye could barely contain her excitement and Simmons knew this, given the fact that she wore Skye wore her emotions on her sleeve as well as her face.)

(Skye turned towards her friend and relaxed against the tree while her friend told her the story of how she met Jaxx; a brother, and one of her most trusted friends.)

 _Her parents were renowned anthropologists in their field; her father focused more on the social complexities of certain cultures while her mother was leaned more towards the linguistically side. Both had studied cultures all over the world and each time they came home with exciting stories; with each story that they told little Jemma Simmons, the more enthralled she became to the point where she often pleaded for her parents to take her with them on their next foray._

 _Sadly, they continuously told her that she was not yet old enough, but that someday they would take her on one of their future studies. So, year after year she asked again and again if she could accompany them on their current study and year after year they told her no. However, on Jemma's 8_ _th_ _birthday, after years of begging and pleading with her parents, her wish finally came true. Both Martin and Marianne Simmons were heading to the United States for a year-long study into the Blackfoot tribe; more specifically the tribe that resides in a remote town in Colorado._

 _After a bit of teasing they told her that she would be allowed to come along so long as she stays out of trouble. With the agreement set, little Jemma and her parents pack what they needed, drove to the airport and after nearly an 11 hour flight they had arrived at the airport. There they were met by a fellow resident and Blackfoot tribe member who would serve as their guide and translator for the duration of their stay. With the sun setting, the Simmons' stowed their bags into the back of the jeep and soon after they were off._

 _Within 20 minutes they were already heading deep into the wooded wilderness, but by that time Jemma had already fallen asleep in her father's arms. Even though she was sleeping, she could hear her parents and the man conversing, she knew not about what as their voices seemed to drift off until she was completely out of it. She stayed asleep all the way to morning where she awoke to the sun shining through a window onto her face. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she changed into some fresh clothes and ate breakfast with her parents. Little Jemma Simmons couldn't wait to start the day, to watch her parents do what they do best and learn what she could._

 _After only a few months little Jemma learned a lot, mainly that the other children in this small-town community didn't seem to like her very much; she often explored on her own while her parents talked with the elders and various other members of the tribe, learning what they could about the Blackfoot tribe. Jemma learned that this particular tribe was the Kainai, or Blood; she also learned that the Blackfoot Indians were and very much still are a spiritual and believed strongly in the supernatural. This often put her in conflict with the other children as she tried on numerous occasions to explain that there is no such thing as the supernatural, only science that has yet to be figured out._

 _As another month passed Simmons felt more and more secluded, while her parents continued their research. However, one day seemingly out of nowhere some of the children had come up to her and asked if she would like to play with them in the nearby forest. She was ecstatic, so much so that she didn't even question the motive behind such a sudden change in events. After grabbing her coat she followed the children as they walked into the forest; they seemed to walk on for hours until they finally came to a spot, after which the children told her that they were going to play hide and seek and that she would start it off._

 _Jemma walked up to a tree, placed her arm against it, and rested her head against her; she closed her eyes and started counting. Once she reached 10 she began looking for the other children, but after 15 minutes she had no luck in finding the others. After looking for yet another 10 minutes, she gave up, yielding to the fact that she was in fact a terrible seeker. She called out to the other children, shouting that she gave up, yet all she heard were the sound of trees rustling in the wind and the sound of thunder clapping off in the distance._

 _Jemma continued shouting out for the others only to get no response in return; it was by this time that she had realized why the kids were really being nice to her and asked her to play with them. She was infuriated, but that soon subsided and was replaced by panic when she realized that she had no idea where she was or how to get back._

 **Simmons**

(She looked down at her hands, which was busy crumpling up some leaves that she had picked as she regaled Skye with her story. After she was finished crumpling the leaves she released the crushed pieces and brushed her hands together. Suddenly she hears Skye ask,) "So wait, they just left you out there all by yourself?" (Simmons could hear the less-than subtle hint of anger in her tone. She looked over at her friend and gave her a half-hearted smile and replied,) "Yep, pretty much…"

(Skye's expression turned to disgust as she stated,) "Those little bastards," Yea, that's exactly how I felt, at the time at least. (Skye shook her head and scoffed at the fact those kids could just leave her out there in the middle of the woods all alone. Of course Skye knew all too well how harsh other children could be, growing up in foster care moving from one home to another.)

(Still, she couldn't stand the thought of little 8 year old Jemma being left out in the woods all alone. Skye looked away for a moment before looking back at Simmons, saying,) "Damn, that's just…" (Simmons replied) "Precisely," (Skye shook her head briefly then asked curiously,) "Wow; how long were out there?" Well Skye, therein lies the problem. (Simmons was suddenly silent, which of course Skye noticed and asked,) "Someone did eventually come looking for…right? (Simmons simply said,) "That's not exactly what happened,"

(Skye leaned forward a bit and asked,) "Simmons, how long were you-*the sound of a twig snapping off in the distance*" (Skye's body immediately tensed up as she turned around, looking in the general direction of where the noise had come from. Simmons eyes widen and her heart pounding as she started cautiously looking around. Against her better judgment, Skye slowly got to her feet, once she was standing she took a small step forward and shouted out,) "Hello? Who out there…?"

(Skye shot a concerned look at Simmons, who shot one back at her; yet Skye turned back and shouted questioningly once more,) "Coulson, Trip…is that you? *mumbling under her breath* Please say yes," (Seconds later, the sound of leaves crunching off to their right, sounding like whatever it was is getting closer. The two of them quickly turned and as they stared off into the dense brush, it was then that Skye felt a knot in her stomach; almost as if she had sensed her friends' trouble, Simmons says.) "Maybe it was just a wild boar…"

(Skye looked at her with uncertainty, as well as replied unenthusiastically,) "Yeah, maybe…" That wasn't very reassuring at 'tall, (Simmons slowly got to her feet while Skye cautiously looked around their surroundings. After a moment of silence, Simmons started to feel calm once more, so much so that she stated with a hint of exasperation,) "Well now, guess it was nothing." (A second later a low-vicious growl came from somewhere over to their right, hidden amongst the dense bush and brush.)

(They turned and looked at one another, each one sporting a familiar yet custom look of fear in their eyes. Skye whispered,) "You just had to say it…" How was I supposed to know that there was something lurking in the bloody bushes? (Soon they're gaze quickly fixated on the bush as it started rustling rapidly back and forth as a yet another growl once more emerged from within.)

(Simmons felt her stomach twisting, knotting up, much like it did when she first saw those creatures in the facility,) No, it couldn't have…there's no way… (She could feel her hands shaking albeit ever so slightly, meanwhile her eyes were fixated on the bush as the rustling stopped. The seconds of silence that followed were excruciating as she waited, holding her breath as she did so.)

(Skye however, wasn't willing to simply wait a see what comes out; her eyes remained on the now still bush as she slowly reached down to grab her pack. Her hand frantically motioned around until it finally found the strap. Her movement was slow, as she placed her hand on Simmons' shoulder; her tone was frantic, yet compiled as she whispered,) "Okay, we're going to slowly get up and-"

(The growl had now evolved into a raging roar, as if it the creature that had been watching them knew what they were planning, and was intent on not seeing it fulfilled. The plan was no longer relevant; being cautious was no longer relevant as there was only one plan left to enact.) "RUN!" (Shouts Skye, her tone both urgent and forceful; Simmons wasn't about to argue with her friend as the two started their sprint away from whatever caused that monstrous roar.)

(The overwhelming fear flooding their minds made it nearly impossible to think, much less come up with any sort of plan. All they knew was that something was behind them, chasing them and that they weren't about to stop to see what it is. Simmons continued rushing forward with Skye nearly keeping pace; as they slapped away the branches that hinder they're way, Skye suddenly stopped, dead in her tracks.)

(Simmons notice that her friend had fallen behind and confusion took hold as she saw Skye standing there.) "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE!?"

 **Skye**

(Simmons was standing there yelling something, but Skye's mind was focused elsewhere; she was looking back behind her, staring at something lying on the ground. In their haste, she mistakenly dropped her pack; the pack itself wasn't important, but the contents within could be invaluable.) Shit, shit! That's just fucking great! (She could hear the creature getting closer and knew that within mere moments that it would be right on top of them and then, game over.)

(As her mind raced back and forth on what to do, Simmons voice finally managed to breakthrough to her as she shouted,) "SKYE WHAT ARE DOING!? FORGET THE BLOODY THING!" (Skye's mind was already made up and her decision was final. She could feel her stomach knotting up, her pulse sped up and her eyes narrowed as she focused on her target. The next moment was a blur as she ran as fast as she could towards the bag; her every instinct told her to run the other way, to forget the bag, but she just couldn't.)

(With the bag was a mere inch away she stretched her hand out which was close enough that her fingertips brushed the strap. Without stopping or even slowing down, she scooped the bag up off the ground and flung the strap over her shoulder while she sprinted back towards Simmons. Everything seemed to go silent, almost as if someone muted everything around her; the only sounds that she could hear was the constant pounding of her heart and a throbbing in her ears.)

(The sound returned second later, just in time for her to shout at Simmons,) "GO, GO, GO!" (Skye's tone was filled with fear and urgency; fortunately it was enough to shake Simmons out of her stupor. Simmons quickly ran into the jungle with Skye following quickly behind. They continued running, leaping over trees which had fallen years prior, pushing through brush and shoving away various branches and limbs that blocked their path.)

(The terrain was only getting rougher the further inward they went, Skye noticed this and she also noticed that Simmons was starting to slow down. Simmons had looked back to see if Skye was still behind her, but in doing so she neglected to see the branch lying directly in her path which quickly catches her foot. Skye could hear her friend grunt as she fell to the ground, nearly knocking the wind right out of her.)

"Simmons!" (Skye shouted, but Simmons was already pushing herself up off the ground by the time she knelt down beside her. Skye grabbed both of her shoulders and helped hoist her friend to her feet. Simmons was out of breath as she stated reassuringly,) "I'm okay Skye, really I'm okay." (She was lying of course and Skye knew that when she said in a lowered tone.) "*mumbling* Somehow I doubt that."

(There's no way that they could outrun whatever was chasing them, Skye knew as much especially with their bodies nearing complete exhaustion. Skye looked around and spotted a large thick tree just a few feet off to they're left ;) If you can't run, hide… (Using what strength was left, she started gently shoving Simmons towards the tree, where they used it as concealment and cover.)

(Skye looks over at her friend who was resting her head against the tree and had closed her eyes.) "*whispering, * Are you okay?" (It was only after Skye said it that she realized just how ridiculous such a question was at this particular juncture; Simmons however was amused by it, as she retorted.) "*whispering* I've been better." (The two chuckle a bit, which seemed to help take their mind off the situation at hand, even if it was short-lived.)

"*mumbles to herself* Yeah, I hear ya." (Simmons continued resting her head against the tree and kept her eyes closed as she tried taking in deep breathes to slow downing her still rapidly pounding heart. Meanwhile, Skye took this moment to peek out from behind the tree, just enough to scan the area for their pursuer. Much to her surprise, she found no sign of their pursuer anywhere within the vicinity.)

Where the hell-where did it go!? (She continued her search, but found only the freshly disturbed leaves, ones which had been left by them during their escape. Shocked and confused, she slowly leaned back behind cover; Simmons lifted her head off the tree and looked over at Skye to see the confused look on her face, which more than concerned her.)

"*whispering, breathing slowed* What is it Skye, what did you see?" (Skye looked at her friend and saw the concerned look plaster all over her friends' face. She didn't want to concern her even more, but she felt that Simmons had to know, which why she told her.) "Nothing…there's nothing out there," (Simmons eyes widened, and her tone that was filled with concern just a few seconds ago was now replaced by disbelief when says,) "*whispering* What!?"

(Now it was Simmons turn to take a quick peek, during which time Skye's mind was being filled with questions that she had no answers to. After just a few seconds Simmons leaned back, looking just as confused Skye. Despite seeing no evidence of their pursuer, they continued to remain in cover if only to be cautious. Simmons mind was still frantic from being chased, which meant that she didn't know how ridiculous it sounded when she suggested that,) "Do you think that it's possible that-it lost track of us?"

(Skye shook her head because in her mind, Skye had already thought of that and dismissed just as quickly.) There's no way in hell that we lost it that easily; not after it tracked us from the facility. (She chose her words carefully so as not to frighten Simmons any more than she currently was.) "Somehow, that thing only survived an explosion and being buried alive, but also managed to track us this far. *Looks over at Simmons* Besides, we both know that it's never, ever that easy."

(Regardless, they decided that it was best to remain in-cover for the time-being, just to be safe. Simmons had once more placed her head against the tree and took this brief moment of peace to calm herself as well as quell her wondering mind. Unfortunately for Simmons, she couldn't help but fixate on one particular event, one that happened just a few minutes ago. She seemed conflicted about what she saw and short of any logical reasoning she found only one course of action that could be taken.)

(Determined to get a proper explanation regardless of their current predicament, Simmons looked over at Skye, who was peeking out from behind the tree once more and spoke softly.) "*Whispers* Skye, I need to ask you something," (Skye continued peeking, mentally taking note of every tree, every bush; anywhere that the creature could possibly use as a hiding spot. Skye main focus was on the current situation, but she managed to find time to answer.)

"*Whispers* Yeah, now might not be the best time Simmons," I hate brushing her off like that, but we need to focus and find a way out of this freaking jungle. (Simmons swallowed hard as she focused on what she wanted to say, not willing to be deterred from her question. With a newfound determination in her tone, Simmons spoke once more as her gaze settled on Skye.) "Regardless of our current situation, I believe that you owe me an explanation,"

(Skye looked back and saw the accusing look that Simmons was shooting her way; she seemed dumbfounded as to what she was being so suddenly accused of.) What's with the look? (With little else to go on, Skye could only assume that it had something to do with her.) What the hell did I supposedly do now? (Unsure, Skye asked,) "Explanation to what?" Seriously, what the hell did I do this time?

(Simmons stared Skye in her eyes, unfaltering in her goal and said,) "An explanation as to why you so recklessly risked life and limb for that pack." (Simmons shoots a quick glance at the pack which Skye had placed on the ground in front of her;) "What could possibly be so important?" (Simmons' tone was a bit furious, yet still she remained collected. Skye's eyes also glanced down at the bag and lingered there for a minute.) Crap, I completely forgot about-she probably thinks that I'm nuts or something.

(Skye was going to tell her, but they had been rudely and unexpectedly interrupted; even so, she was unsure of whether or not it was a good time to tell her. Unfortunately Simmons was stubborn and was growing impatient by Skye's lack of response.) Now is probably not the time- (Skye saw the way that Simmons was frowning at her; it was look she became all too familiar with since she joined up with Coulson and company.)

(She bit her lower lip as she weighed her choices; seeing no other choice, she decided it was best for to finally know.) "It's better if I just show you," (Skye knelt down and unzipped the pack; after a bit of shuffling she pulled out a soggy bandana after which she stood back up. She glanced empathetically at Simmons, who raised a brow as Skye held the soggy bandana in her hands; soon Simmons looked bewildered, confused even, but she remained silent.)

(Slowly, Skye started unfolding the bandana, taking care just incase the vial itself was cracked from her dropping it. The anticipation soon settled once she finished unfolding, revealing an intact vial; Simmons' eyes widened, her face flushed as she simply stood there staring at it. Soon her eyes met Skye's, who could see the shock and awe hidden behind them.)

"Is that-what I think it is!?" (Simmons nearly lost her voice as she started to speak, due in no small part to the shock of seeing something that she thought had been destroyed when the facility self-destructed. Her eyes returned to the vial while Skye's lingered on her face; it was the look of awe on Simmons' face that caused Skye to grin, if only a little bit.) "Yep, HH.327; I found it in that hidden in the-" (Skye's mind quickly flashed back to the makeshift surgery room, but all she could think about was Jaxx; it's still a fresh wound, one that still bore pain.)

(She pushed that memory aside in order to finish what she was saying,) "Anyways, I managed to snatch before we had to take a swan dive off a cliff. I figured, that anyone could make something good out it; it'd have to be you." (Simmons remained speechless, and motionless for a time, almost like she was frozen solid; after nearly a minute of silence, Skye couldn't help but think that this was the longest that Simmons has gone without speaking.)

(Another minute passed by before Simmons finally snapped back to reality; without saying a word she quickly unbuckled her pack and sat it down on the ground. It was quick and frantic the way she unzipped the pack and pulled out a stainless steel container of some sort. Confusion engrossed Skye's face as she watched Simmons press a button on the container, which made a pressurized pooping sound seconds later.)

(After opening the lid, Simmons held it out towards Skye and said hastily,) "Quickly, place the vial gently, and I mean gently, into the cryo-container." (Skye heard the urgency in her tone, but said nothing as she looked inside the container only to find that it was almost to the brim with a gel-like substance.) What the hell is that? Looks like apple jam, (As she looked a bit closer, she caught a less-than subtle whiff from inside.) What the fuc-(Her gag reflex kicked in, yet she somehow managed to not show it.)

Oh my go; ugh, whatever it is it smells like it's two weeks past it's expiration date. And was left on the floor of a truck stop bathroom, (She turned her head, in the hopes of not catching another whiff.) "What, in the hell is that stuff?" (Skye didn't even try to hide the disgust in her tone;

Simmons reply was straightforward.) "It's a cryo-suspension gel matrix; Fitz and I designed it a year prior to joining Coulson's team. " (Simmons looked up, only to see Skye raising an eyebrow and giving her a confused look.) "It will keep the sample cold long enough until we get it back to the lab for testing, but time is of the essence…"

(Her tone was firm, if not a bit impatient, nevertheless Skye was willing to go along, but was not about to stick her hand in the container. She held the vial above the container, and just as she was about to dunk it in, Simmons stated,) "You need to make sure to push the sample down into the center of the gel," (Skye suddenly stopped, her eyes shot up to meet Simmons; the look of disbelief encompassed face as she retorted,) "Whoa, whoa wait; you mean that have to stick my hand in that crap? Aww hell no, ain't going to happen."

(Simmons urgency explained her reasoning,) "It's the only way to maintain a proper core temperature." I don't care, (Skye sarcastically replied) "It smells like something that came out of the HULK's butt," (Simmons was starting to get agitated with the lack of progress as well as Skye's stubbornness.) "Skye, the longer we wait the less-likely that the sample will that I'll be able to extrapolate any viable data; we're running out of time so just, bloody do it already!"

(Skye felt like she was back at the orphanage, being scolded for not eating her vegetables; seeing no way out she finally conceded to Simmons request.) "Okay fine, it's just-*mumbles* this sucks." (She placed the bottom of the vial into the gel, slowly pushing it in; the squish-like noises coming from the gel as she pushed the vial farther in didn't help much, in fact it only made Skye more squeamishness.)

Ew, ew, ew; this is just nasty-(Eventually, she could feel the texture of the gel on her fingertips; in Skye's mind, it felt like she was sticking her hand in a jar full of pancake syrup.) "Oh god, it feels-*shakes her head and sticks her tongue out* nasty, nasty, nasty…" (A few more seconds passed, during which Skye had managed to tuck the vial all the way down to the middle of the gel. A split-second later she removed her hand from the container and was relieved that it was over.)

(Skye couldn't help but shake her hand off to her side while Simmons clamped the lid back down; another pressurized popping noise came from the container, after which she held it of close to her face and smiled.) "Now all we need to do is find Director Coulson and Agent Triplett and get back to the plane and get this back to the lab." (Simmons stated as she started tucking the container back into her pack; Skye however, was still shaking off the non-existent gel on her hand, that is until she suddenly heard a twig snap.)

(She peeked out from behind the tree, just in time to catch a glimpse of something moving from one tree to another.) Shit! (Quickly she ducked back behind the tree, kneeling down next to Simmons, who had just finished securing the container in her pack.) "What is it Skye?" (Simmons curiously asks, to which Skye replied with an uncertain tone.) "*whispers* I think it's back."

(From the look of fright which was now plastered on Simmons face, it appeared that she knew what she meant by Skye's reference to "it".)

 **Simmons**

Bloody Hell! (Simmons shuddered at the thought of that creature closing in on them and they were helpless, at least in the means of fighting such a beast. She turned to Skye and watched as her friend frantically looked around the ground before them. Unsure why Skye was doing this, Simmons asked,) "*whispers* What are you doing!?" (She didn't mean to sound so agitated, but given the current situation she couldn't help it.)

(Skye's eyes lit up as she snatched up a branch that must've broken off from the tree that they were using for cover. Gripping it tightly, she held it up and readied herself as the sound of leaves crunching grew closer. Skye glance over at Simmons and states urgently.) "*whispers* Get ready," Ready-ready for what?! (Suddenly it hit her, and she knew what Skye's plan was; needless to say, Simmons wasn't too thrilled about the plan and she said as much.)

"*whispers, agitated and panic tone* That is your plan?! You do realize that this thing survived an explosion and god only know what else, do you honestly expect to hurt it with that!?" (Skye shot her a look, this time she was the one that appeared agitated and responded accordingly.) "*whispers, * My plan, is to buy you some time; only one of us is going to make it out of here," (Simmons eyes narrowed as confusion started to set in; seconds later however it became quite clear as to what Skye's was really planning.) She's planning to stay behind, to hold off the creature and buy me time to get away…(Skye looked into Simmons' eyes and could see that she figure out her plan.)

(Shaking her head, Simmons stated sternly,) "*whispers* No, I'm not leaving you to fend off that monster by yourself," (Skye lets out a scoffs as she retorts,) "It's the only-" (Simmons cuts her friend off and sounding even more stern than previously she states.) "*whispers* I AM NOT LOSING ANYONE ELSE! UNDERSTAND!" (Even before joining up with Coulson's team, Skye always seemed adept at reading people, knowing their intentions or how they will act. For Skye, Simmons was like an open book, especially when it came to the team; Simmons would do anything to help the team, even jump headlong into danger to protect them.)

(For this reason, she expected this type of reaction from Simmons and she in turn felt the same way. For Simmons however, leaving her closet friend behind wasn't up for debate, it never would be.) Either the both of us make it out of here or neither of us do. Knowing that she was unsuccessful in swaying Simmons, Skye nodding and stated,) "*whispers* Ok fine, but your going to need a weapon." Right, (Simmons looked around and eventually found a nice thick, sturdy branch.)

(Her grip tighten as her nerves kicked into overdrive, as she waited for Skye's to give her the order to attack. Meanwhile the sound of leaves crunching under heavy footing was growing louder and closer. The creature was there, just on the other side of the tree; they could hear it's heavy breathing, during which the two shared a looked, one which stated that it was time to strike.)

(Skye stood up quickly, with Simmons in quick pursuit and the two stepped out from behind the tree and swung the would-be clubs with all their might. It became apparent that they had missed they're targets when their clubs splinter apart from hitting the tree. However, they managed to get a up close and personal look of what they were swinging at, or more specifically who.)

"Whoa, whoa take it easy, it's just us." That voice-Coulson (Shock washed over both Skye's and Simmons' faces as they stood there, staring at the two people they had thought were themselves lost, or worse.) Coulson, Trip! (Without a second thought Simmons dropped the branch and swung her arms around Trips neck, squeezing him. Skye and Coulson also embraced, both looking relieved to see the other. After a few seconds more, they released one another as did Trip and Simmons.)

"Well, you may not be able to shoot worth a damn, but you sure can swing that club like a maniac." (Trip's attempt at humor was a success, causing Simmons to chuckle a bit, she stopped however when she looked down at the ground and saw a patch of blood on Trips' leg, just below his kneecap.) "My god," (Simmons words seemed to trail off as she turned her focus to the wound. She knelt down to get a better look; Trip winced when Simmons placed her hands around the wound.) "What happened?"

(Trip shrugged it off, stating reassured-ly,) "It's nothing, really; I must've cut it on a rock when decided to go base jumping off the Cliffside. Really it's no big deal." (Simmons shoots him a look, before looking back at the wound; after a few seconds she stood back up and told Trip,) "Well regardless, your not going anywhere until that wound has been dressed. *gestures for Trip to take a seat next to the tree*" (Trip heaved a sigh, his way of letting her know that it was a waste of time as he limped over to the tree.)

(He slumped against the tree while keeping his leg straight so that Simmons could work. She ripped open the cut in Trips' pants, making it bigger which in turn gave her a better look at his wound.) Thankfully the wound isn't deep; the area around the wound is discolored which is to be expected. (Simmons reached around the tree grabbing her pack; after placing down beside her, she unzip it and reached within.)

Where's the bloody hell are those gauze pads, I know that I- (She pulls out a small sealed gauze package, afterwards she reaches into the bag once more, this time pulling out some bandage wrap. It was difficult to tear open the sealed pack with her hands, mainly due to how sweaty her palms were. Becoming somewhat frustrated, she placed one of the edges of the pack in her mouth and used her teeth to rip the corner off. She spat out the piece of wrapping off to her side and was finally able to open the pack, tearing it apart to get to the gauze pad held within.)

'Bout bloody time, I don't waste anymore time. (Gently, she placed the gauze pad on Trip's wound, during which he winced in pain. Her eyes shot up to his face and she said in a gentle, almost mother-like tone.) "Here hold this," (He didn't question, or argue as he replaced her hand with his, while she started to unroll the bandage wrap in her hands. Once she had about 5 inches worth, she placed it at the bottom edge of the gauze pad and began wrapping it around his leg.)

"You're quite lucky; another inch or two deeper and it would have lacerated your arterial vein. You would've bleed out in minutes." Quite lucky indeed; I did however forget to mention the fact that it will need to be stitched up when we get back to base, but given his hesitation when it comes to needles...I think it's best if I leave that out for now. (Trip heaved a heavy sigh as he retorted sarcastically,) "Yeah, thanks; I think."(She determined that it would take most of the wrap to keep the gauze pad secure.)

 **Coulson**

(Coulson took note of the condition that Skye was in, noting every little detail no matter how minuscule.) Skye looks like she's about to kill over, (He glances over at Simmons who was still wrapping up Trips' leg.) Simmons too for that matter. (His attention turns back to Skye, taking note of how the sweat was literally running down her face; without even thinking twice he grabbed the canteen strap which was draped diagonally across his chest lifted it over his head.)

"Here, drink." (He said unscrewing the cap and holding out in front of her; he held it out in front of her, for which she humbly accepted. She felt the cold steel on her lips, followed by a rush of fresh ice cold water; never had water ever tasted so good she thought, taking 3 gulps in quick succession. Once she was finished she handed back off to Coulson and happily replied,) "Thanks, I really needed that."

I see that. (Coulson walked over and knelt down next to Simmons who had just finished patching up Trip's leg. Once more he held the canteen out, and in a gentle said,) "Here," (Simmons looks up, her kind, tired eyes meeting his. She smiled, albeit briefly as she took the canteen; with it in hand she pressed it's cool steel lip to hers, taking two quick gulps before stopping.) "Thank you sir," (Replied Simmons as she lowered the canteen down and started screwing the cap back on.)

(She held the canteen for a moment before handing it off to Coulson, who shook his head, simply stating.) "Keep it." From the looks of you, you need it more than I do. (Simmons tilted her head slightly, her tone filled with uncertainty as she asks,) "Are you sure sir?" (Seeing no need for words, Coulson gives a simple nod and with that Simmons smiles once more.) "Again, thank you sir."

(Her voice nearly breaks, which Coulson heard clearly, but decided to say nothing; instead he gave her a simple smile before he stood up. Simmons looks over to Trip, and their eyes meet; she looks away and tries her best to keep her composure.) "So AC, what's the plan?" (Coulson turned around, and studied Skye who was waiting for him to answer. He knew what needed doing, and he did hesitate to tell her.)

"It's simple; get to the plane and get the hell out off this island." (He studied the expression on her face, one that all but shouted confusion and she wasn't the only one.) "But sir, we don't even know where exactly the plane is?" (He turned around once more, this time studying the look on Agent Simmons' face. He retorted,) "Actually, we do."

(He looked to his left and walked over to a tree; it was there in the tree that would lead them to their salvation and back home. Carved into the tree was an arrow, one which pointed north. He turned around and saw that Skye had taken a few steps towards the tree. Confusion washed over her face as she squinted her eyes to focus.) "What is that-an arrow?" It's exactly that Skye.

"It's not just an arrow," (Coulson cryptic message only seemed to confuse Skye, until suddenly her eyes widened when it hit her like a bolt of lightning to her brain.) "*exclaims* It's a compass!" (It was a revelation that that came out of nowhere, but was a welcomed surprise to all. Coulson nodded and stated with a smile.) "Exactly. One that will lead us back to the Iron Wing."

(Trip smiled, as did Simmons who could barely contain her excitement at this new development. However, Coulson was able to determine that Skye was still confused and he thought he knew why.) She hasn't figured it out yet; she doesn't know yet who planted this here. (Skye shook her head before looking up at Coulson and asking,) "Whoa, whoa wait a second-how do you even know what that means? For all we know it could lead us to some kind of trap that Hydra left,"

(Coulson shook his head and replied,) "It wasn't Hydra," (Skye tossed her arms in the air and asked,) "Then who was it?" (He stayed silent, trying to maintain his composure, trying to be strong for the team, despite their setbacks, their losses. However, when he glanced over at Simmons, she looked into his eyes; despite all his training, it was the look in his eyes that gave her the answer.)

"It was Jaxx, wasn't it?" (Her voice trembled when she spoke, and nearly broke when she said his name. The loss was still fresh, still carried weight, one which seemed almost unbearable at times. All Coulson could do was nod and state the reasoning for this.) "Yes; he carved these in 1 mile circle out from the plane, so that we could find it if we ever got separated."

(She dropped her head, her attempt at hiding the pain which crossed her face; Skye's heart sank as she stood there staring at her friend who was in obvious pain. Trip couldn't look away, so he sat there, watchin as Simmons fought to push back the tears. After a few seconds she wiped her nose with her hand, sniffling as she did so; Trip places his hand on her shoulder, gently massaging her shoulder in a silent show of support.)

(The group was silent, each one trying their best to grapple with the loss of one of their own. Coulson knew time was of the essence and yet, he just couldn't bring himself to bark orders at those who were still grieving. Instead he turned away, looking at the tree behind him; his gaze lands upon the arrow etched upon the tree, seconds later he recalled a mission from a few years back that he and Jaxx was on. He wasn't sure why, but he felt compelled to share it,) "June 13th 2008, Benghazi…"

(Skye was the first to turn her attention to Coulson, with Trip and Simmons not to far behind her. They weren't expecting the director to speak, but now that he had, they were curious and he had their undivided attention. He turned around, feeling their eyes upon him he met their gazes as he continued.) "I'm not going to brief all of you on the mission, not because it's classified or anything like that, it's just, well, it wasn't very memorable. Hell, I don't even remember why Fury had sent me in, or Jaxx for that matter."

(He saw a light flicker their eyes when he said that name, Jaxx. It was especially noticeable in Simmons eye's, who looked away to have a brief moment to collect herself.) "Okay well, if the mission was nothing special then why tell us about it at all director?" (Coulson turned his attention to Trip, whose question as well as his tone hinted towards wanting to know more.)

(Coulson decided that the best way to answer any questions, present and future, was to get to the point that he was trying to make.) "Like I said, the mission wasn't very memorable, but afterwards," (He took a couple steps forward, closing the gap between him and his team as he continued.) "Now some of it is a bit hazy, mainly due to the fact that Jaxx decided to celebrate."

(Seeing the looks on Trip and Skye's faces, he could see that they knew what he meant by 'hazy' and 'celebrate'. Skye wasn't afraid to state it as much.) "*grinning* You totally got wasted didn't you?" Wasted; that would be an understatement Skye. (He looked over at her and shared a grin before replying.) "That's an understatement," (Coulson turned his attention back to the group and continued.)

(He told the group about the brief antics and how they almost got in trouble with the local military police, for which Skye and the others were more than a little shocked at finding out this information. They only became more enthralled as the story went on, he told them how he and Jaxx met back up at the S.H.I.E.L.D Hellicarrier. It was after they're debriefing that Coulson had offered him yet again a chance to join S.H.I.E.L.D and yet again he refused.) "No offense, but what did Jaxx have against S.H.I.E.L.D.? I would've thought that he would jump at the chance to be a part of it."

(Coulson nodded in agreement, but then he stated,) "That's exactly what I thought, at the time anyway, but then he told me that he couldn't leave his family behind; that he couldn't leave his family to fight alone."

 **Trip**

Waitasec, (He glances at Simmons briefly,) I thought Jemma was the only family he had…(He thought about it for a second, recalling what he read from the one page file on Jaxx and from what Simmons had told him. That's when it suddenly became clear to him, unfortunately it wasn't as clear to Simmons or Skye who appeared confused.)

"But wait-I thought Simmons was the only family he had, *looks over at Simmons who looks over at her* right?" (Simmons nods, appearing as confused as Skye, so to help alleviate the confused-stricken duo Trip thought that he'd throw them a bone; one in the form of information.) "That's not what he is talking about…Jaxx was a marine, right?" (Skye nodded and from the way her lips parted was about to retort when she sudden froze. Her eyes widened as glance at him, Simmons and then to Coulson.)

That's it girl, now you get it. (Skye looked dumbfounded at the fact that she couldn't figure it out sooner; Simmons even more so since Coulson had told her, leaving her the last one to actually know. With that everyone was back on track and listened intently as Coulson carefully spoke each word with care.) "He told me, that I needed to watch out for my family, now; everyone here knows by now I'm sure, that I'm an only child and that my mother and father passed on a many years ago so naturally I was a bit confused when he said this."

"But then, he told me 'Family isn't about blood or DNA; it's about who you would fight for, it's about who you would live and dies for but mainly…it's who you would sacrifice your body, mind and soul to protect…" (At that moment, they realized why Coulson had shared that story,) "That is why I remember, not because we stopped some bad guy from doing bad things but because of what he said…This is why we're here, why all of us continue doing this, to continue fighting even in the shadow of defeat because we do not for ourselves, but for our family, our friends, our loved ones. They are why we are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice so they others can continue on in our place; just like Jaxx has." (Coulson continues.)

(Coulson eyes meets Simmons and within, they each saw the spark, that fire that had been thought lost, extinguished, burning brighter than in previous days. Simmons stood up, her form showed confidence, which only made Coulson even more proud to have her on his team, to see her standing instead of crippled over in defeat. Soon Skye and Trip joined them, and the despair-soaked atmosphere had dissipated, replaced by that of determination of confidence.)

(He gazes at each and every one of them, more than thrilled that they are willing to continued onward. The smile he had held back before, now flourished as he stated.) "If there's no other objections; we have a plane to catch, so let's get it done." (Each one gave a nod before gathering their things prior to heading out. Simmons grabs her bag, and pauses when she sees the container.)

(Her mind started to wonder, pondering on the repercussions of taking the vial with them, or if it would be simpler to just destroy, here and now. Trip noticed Simmons standing there, staring into her pack as if she were staring into a bottomless pit.) "Hey Sims," (His words struck her like thunder, snapping her mind back to the world. Quickly she zipped up the pack as Trip walked over, the sound of curiosity in his tone as he asked,) "Everything alright?"

(Simmons nodded as she frantically put her arms through the straps of her pack.) "Everything is hunky doory," (Her tone wasn't as convincing as it should have been, but it would have to suffice. She decided to take the vial with her and notify Coulson and company later when they were back at base and safe. Trip saw that she still looked rattled which was always a concern, so he asked.) "Are you sure everything's good? If you need a second to-"

(Simmons interrupted him, stating in a calming tone.) "Trip I'm fine, really. I mean it's not like this situation of ours could get any worse right?" (Trip shot her a look, one which stated all to often a common conception.) Oh girl, please tell me that you did not just jinx us by saying- (A loud roar suddenly echoed from behind them, catching the attention of everyone. Coulson and Skye walk towards Simmons and Trip, who shakes his head and says,) "You just had to say it, didn't you girl?"

(Another roar echoed, causing a shiver to course down their spines, this time however it echoed from their right. Seconds later another roar this one was to their left; Coulson retrieved his weapon and stated,) "I count 3, and from the sound of it, they have us surrounded." (Simmons shakes her head and mumbles under hear breath.) "Bloody hell."


	12. The Hidden Truths among Secret Lies

**Author's Note:** **Sorry for the delay in story progress but I had personal issues I had to deal with which took up a lot of my time. On that note I will be posting two more chapters for this story which should wrap it up nicely. Again, sorry for the delay and I hope you enjoy the chapter, as always if you would like to leave a comment or have a question or issue pertaining to the story let me know. I do not own any Characters from the MCU whether it be from the movies, or series'. Enjoy.**

 **1:15 minutes later**

He listened intently as the sound of the engines hummed like drums in his ears. It was soothing, calming even as he sat there, his eyes keenly focused on the horizon. His eyes shot to the gauge immediately to the right of the yoke, afterwards his grip tightened as he slowly pulled back on the yoke, which leveled off the plane. A voice came over the headset that he was wearing; _"Iron Wing 6-2-4, this is Buckler 3-8-5 do you read over?"_ Agent Melinda May had come up with that call sign just before they left for the mission.

The pilot flipped a few switches and spoke into the mic; "Buckler 3-8-5 this is Iron Wing 6-2-4, I read you over. Is this channel secure?" _"It's secure; glad to hear your voice agent Triplett."_ Triplett couldn't help but grin a little, "Right back at you," Agent May had started to berate agent Triplett for not checking in once they had arrived. He had explained what happened; how Hydra had a generator that knocked out every electronic device on the plane and how they had to make a crash landing.

He continued on, telling her about the mass grave that they had found; eventually Triplett told her about the facility hidden deep in the heart of the island, as well as the gruesome scene within. Some of the detail he decided to leave out, not wanting to discuss it on the channel; even though May said it was secure, telling her about what happen was something that he wanted to do face to face. However, she could tell that he was holding out on her, she wasn't sure why, but in the end she let it slide; figuring that he probably had his reasons for keeping her in the dark.

But…there was question that she refused to let go unanswered; _"Trip, I need to know…what happened out there?"_ He hesitated, not knowing how to explain it, how to even begin to describe what he saw. This was unusual, for him to feel so conflicted about the truth of what happened. His grandmother raised him to not lie, that the truth can overcome anything no matter what. So, instead of telling her a secret that's not his to tell, he saw only one course of action. "Director Coulson can tell you when we land. We're 3 hours out."

She wanted to know, was desperate to know, he could tell that much from the sudden silence that had stricken the channel. It was her choice not to push, hearing the exhaustion in his voice, so instead she asked yet another question that she needed answering. _"Trip…is Coulson there-is he-how is he?"_ And yet again, he didn't know how to answer. Instead he remained silent, looking out of the corner of his eye, pondering on a completely different question on which now plagued his every thought… _Did he know?_

Meanwhile, Director Coulson just sat on the floor of the cargo hold, leaning against one of the seats. His eyes were glass-like as he stared, almost void of any sort of emotion as he gazed into his blood soaked palms. His fingers were starting to stick together, which meant that the blood was starting to dry. This wasn't the first time he had blood on his hands, and as he stared at it he couldn't help but recall back to when Skye had been shot; his hands were covered in blood then too, but she was innocent, the blood on his hands now, was anything but.

He looked over to his left, looking at the brown haired unconscious young woman lying on the floor next to him. Coulson slowly moved his hand toward the young woman's face, brushing away a strand of hair which was draped over her eye and sliding it back behind her ear. She was alive, he was grateful for that, yet he couldn't help but feel slightly peeved at how reckless and stupid she was for having done what she did. He couldn't help but think what would've happen if-luckily he didn't have to; thanks in no small part to one of their own.

See what they did, what they were truly capable of, it was quite a revelation, especially to Coulson who thought he knew everything about them. He turned, gazing across to the other side of the cargo hold at the person responsible for not only saving their lives, but also stopping those monsters for good. It was unbelievable, most of all it was unexpected especially coming from someone he thought had no secrets and yet; he sits there, calmly, face voided of emotion and his tone smooth and calm as he spoke.

"So, any other secrets that I should know about?"

 **1:15 minutes earlier**

 **Coulson**

"Bloody hell…" (There was no mistaking the sound of dread in her tone, and yet Simmons still somehow maintained her composure. Meanwhile, Trip retrieved his assault rifle which was hanging off to his side and clicked the safety and readied himself. Coulson reached behind him, retrieving his pistol from the holster clipped on his belt. He clicked the button on the handle, which in turn ejected the magazine from the gun; he examined the clip, looking less-than thrilled by what he saw.)

6 rounds, (Afterwards he pulled back the slide enough to see the tip of a bullet in the chamber.) Make that 7. (He slammed the clip back into the gun, then looked over at Trip and asked,) "Trip how many rounds do you have?" (Trip aims his rifle, looking through the reflex sight just in time to spot a shadow-like figure sprint from one tree to another. He answered immediately afterwards.)

"12 rounds in my rifle, you?" (Leaves crunching off to Coulson's left caught his attention and he immediately aim his weapon in that direction. He replied,) "7, that's including the one in the chamber," (Before Coulson could respond, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye; he quickly turned and aimed his pistol, only to see nothing. Seconds later he caught to blurs rushing off to his right and once more when he aimed his gun he saw nothing.) Damnit; there's too many trees and foliage for me to get a clean shot. Besides, with the way they just shrug off bullets, we might as well be shooting spit-wads and harsh language at them.

"What I wouldn't give for a Hulk or Thor right about now…" (Even though Trip was just joking, he help thinking that having an avenger here would be great right about now; Coulson of course, couldn't agree more though he differed on which ones.) "Personally, I wouldn't mind having Rogers or Romanoff here," (Skye put her two cents in,) "Wait what about Iron Man-I thought you two were buddy-buddy?"

(Coulson replied simply,) "Yeah sure; him too." (No long after, everything went silent, which only made Coulson and company even more nervous. With his gun at the ready, he turned to his team and they to him.) "That's never good." (Skye states.) "You think." (Trip retorts. Coulson meanwhile knew what was coming next.) They're getting ready to make they're move. Which means that we gotta act fast.

(He turned his attention to Trip, who looked at him and for an instant it was like they're minds were linked and the both of them came to the same conclusion; they knew what needed to be done.) "You thinking what I'm thinking sir?" (Trip's face was blank, as he waited for the Director to confirm that they were in fact on the same page.) Unfortunately, I am; I just wish we had more bullets.

"Butch and Sundance," (Coulson stated. Trip's expression changed quickly to one of acknowledgement as he nodded and replied,) "Butch and Sundance." (Simmons and Skye shared a dumbfounded look before looking back, just in time for Coulson to tell them the plan.) "Okay then, it's settled. Skye *Trip reaches behind him, retrieving his pistol from his waistband* you and Simmons are going to head in that direction *Points behind him, in the same direction as the arrow carved into the tree*; then immediately lock yourself in and radio HQ to send reinforcements. Tell them to bring guns; really, really big guns."

(Trip hands the pistol off to Skye who takes it without a second thought. She checks the clip, checks the chamber and pulls back on the slide; as she does this Skye asks,) "What about you two? What will you be-" (As her eyes meant Coulson's, she saw something that she hadn't seen in a very long time; his eyes all but shouted the answer and in that instant she knew.)

(Simmons soon caught on as well, seeing the same look in Trip's eyes.) "You're staying behind, aren't you? *Looks over, gazing into Coulson's blank, expressionless face* You're not coming with us?" I'm sorry, but we can't. (Coulson walked up to Simmons, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, which caused her to start welling up. With a gentle, reassuring tone he stated why it had to be like this.)

"We'll buy as much time as we can," (Simmons started mumbling to herself as she tried to keep her tears from coming to the surface.) "*low, raspy tone* No, no, no," (Coulson removed his hand and took a step back. His stomach started to tighten, to knot up; it wasn't an easy decision, it never is, but it was the only option left. He looked over at Skye, who eyes started to well-up as well; she shook her head and stated.) "No, no way; we are not leaving the two of you here to fight that thing alone. We came here together and we'll leave here together."

(Her tone was mixed, full of emotion and unbridled stubbornness. She stood there refusing to leave in defiance of Coulson's own orders; his eyes shot to his left, his gaze falling upon agent Simmons. She too simply stood there looking just as defiant as Skye; part of him was so proud of how far the two of them had come, how after everything that they still stand united.)

(His eyes drifted to his right and out of the corner of his eye he saw Agent Triplett, who shrugs casually as he seemed unsurprised by how this event has turned out. Despite their objections, Coulson states sharply.) "That is not an option Skye," (Skye noted that his tone seemed hastened and stern which given the current situation wasn't unexpected; yet she continued staring questioningly at the Director.) "You and Simmons make a run for the plane, now! That's an or-"

A monstrous roar cuts through, interrupting Coulson before he could finish; not a second later something leaps out from the brush behind Skye and Simmons, landing directly in front of Coulson. Without any warning, the creature quickly attacked, hitting the Director on the side of his face with the back of its fist. Skye and Simmons watched in shock and horror as Coulson spun in the air before violently smashing against the tree behind him; the sound of his body thudding to the ground caused Simmons to flinch and gasp out. This did not go unnoticed by the creature, as its gaze now landed on Simmons; without hesitation Trip raised his rifle and started squeezing off rounds into the creature's chest.

Each carbon-tipped round shredded his skin like it was butter, spurting blood out as round after round pierced the creature's flesh. In mere seconds his magazine was empty; with the distinct clicking sound coming from his rifle, he had hoped that the nightmare that had been stalking them had finally ended. It quickly became clear however, that their nightmarish ordeal was far from over. Trip's eyes widened, his mouth gaping open so slightly as the look of shock and dread engrossed his face at once as he stared into the hollow soulless eyes of the creature still standing before him. It stood there seemingly unfazed, looking curiously down at the fresh wounds which now riddled his chest. Skye, Simmons and Trip watched as the creature started digging the bullets out of his chest using its fingers.

Simmons winced as this seemingly unstoppable creature performed this action without flinching or shouting out in pain. Skye raised her gun pistol and aimed it at the creatures' head, ready to fire. It was like the creature could sense her intent, so it stopped digging out the bullets and lunged at her. She was able to fire off 3 rounds before it was on her, knocking the gun out of her hands and grabbing her by the throat. It's gripped tighten as it lifted her off the ground and into the air, leaving Skye to gasping for air.

Trip had no plan, all he knew was that the creature was killing his friend and he wasn't about to let that happen. He threw the rifle down to the ground and after retrieving his knife from the sheath on the back of his waist band, he attacked. The tip of the blade barely pierced the skin when the creature grabbed Trip by the wrist. Its fingers were like a tightened coil, squeezing, twisting his wrist until he was forced to release the knife.

He groaned in pain as he struggled to gain back control, but his problems became far worse when in one quick motion the monster jerked Trip's wrist, causing a breaking sound to echo from his wrist. Trip shouted out in pain and started to crumble to the ground, leaving Skye to fend for herself. Her friends were losing the fight and though frightened and terrified beyond belief, Simmons summoned every ounce of courage that she had left and focused on what she needed to do.

She picked up the branch that she had before, and with all her strength she swung her would-be club at the creatures' head, smashing him in the side of the face. The creature seemed more annoyed than hurt by the biochemist's attempt, nevertheless his attention was now on her. Skye had lost consciousness mere seconds before, so the creature released her and swung its arm backwards; the sheer force for which she was hit sent her flying through the air until she slammed violently against a tree, therefore knocking her unconscious.

Coulson had just started to stir, groaning as his nerves screamed and his back throbbed from hitting the tree earlier. The sheer strength of the creature's hit nearly burst his eardrums, throwing his equilibrium out of sorts. He rolled onto his side and looked around only to see that his vision was blurred. Soon though everything came into focus and his eyes widened as he saw both Skye and Simmons laying on the ground, eerily still. His eyes darted to the creature which still had Trip by the wrist, locking him in place as he punched him in the face over and over again.

He couldn't stand seeing this, not being able to act or do anything and in this moment he thought that this was it, that this was the end for them. And yet in spite of this, Coulson refused to give up, mentally stating that it wasn't his style to just lay down and die. Getting to his feet was tough, as every muscle shouted out in dull pain throughout his body, but he managed to do so anyway. Using the tree that he had slammed into as a leaning post, he stared at the creature with unnerving intent and he shouted "Hey!"

The creature had paused, its fist stopping just mere inches from Trip's bloodied and bruised face. Its gaze rested upon Coulson's, who pushed off the tree to stand on his own two feet. The creature titled its head a little to the right, almost like it was measuring him up. "C'mon*breathing heavily* is that all you got!?" The creature's head returned to its original position and for a moment, just a moment, Coulson could see a glint of amusement in the creature's eye.

This was nothing more than a cat and mouse game to him, and he was just playing with its pray before finishing them off, Coulson ascertained that much. It was a stupid plan, he figured as much, but he also figured that he had nothing else to lose; so, much like Trip, Coulson reached into his pocket and retrieved his flip knife and held it firmly in his hand. He flipped it opened and took a defensive stance, meanwhile the creature tossed Trip off to the side, much like a child would a doll.

It stood tall, its veins throbbing out from his neck, shoulders and arms as it clenched its fists tightly causing his knuckles to crack. Then it did something unexpected…it started to crouch down, slowly. Trip looked on, wondering what it was doing, while Coulson knew exactly what it was up to and what was coming next. Suddenly, it leaps into the air towards Coulson; he knew that he didn't stand a chance one on one with this thing, but he had to at least try, he owed his team that much. As the creature drew closer to the Director, something else unexpected happen, something that no one could ever see coming…

 **Moments Earlier**

 **Unknown**

(He had been stumbling around for a while now, bruised, covered in cuts, gashes and blood. His face was covered in dirt, a gash going down the left side of his face; he had various other wounds covering his entire body, some were still bleeding while others had stopped altogether.) My left arm feels like it's on fire; on top of that, there's a numbing pain coming from my shoulder. (Using his right hand he reaches up, grasping his shoulder.) UGGHH SON OF A…yep, yep definitely dislocated. (He stops walking, and pauses for a second to focus. He looks to his left and spots a tree, solid, sturdy; perfect for what he had in mind.) That'll do…

(He walks over to the tree, placing his right hand on the tree and inhales deeply, before saying to himself.) "Okay, 1-" (Without warning he violently slammed his left shoulder against the tree with enough force that the sound of bone popping echoed in his ears.) "Sonuva…*grumbles incoherently*" Every damn time. (A numb, burning pain radiated up and down his left arm for the next few minutes.)

(He leaned his head against the tree, fiercely clenching his eyes shut; through gritted teeth he mumbled to himself. Slowly, he took a couple of deep breathes, inhaling in through his nose and exhaling out his mouth. After opening his eyes, he looked upward towards the top of the tree; his mind wondered, plagued by unsettling thoughts.)

(Thanks to his training however, he was quickly able to push these thoughts to the back of his mind and instead focused on his surroundings in the hopes that he would recognize something, anything that could lead him to where he needed to go next.) Okay let's see what we got. Looks like trees, brush…more trees and more brush…

(There was nothing; no landmarks, or dirt trails, or any sign of anything passing through here. It looked grim, not just his mission but his chances of getting off of this island were starting to look slim. That is, until he spotted something on the ground just a few feet in front of him. He quickly walked over to the area and knelt down for a closer look.)

(He placed his hand beside one of the footprints then the other.) Looks like a woman's size 6 and size 7…it has to be them. (Gently, he pressed the inside of the tracks with his fingers, gauging how long ago these track was made.) They're still fresh, couldn't have been made more than 5 maybe 10 minutes ago. (Though he did not show it, deep down underneath he was excited.)

They're close by, I can feel it— (A distinct sound pierced through the air, one which snapped him from his thoughts.) Gunshot, where— (He was cut off as a series of gunshots echoed off in the distance. Quickly he stood, his eyes scanning the area trying to find the source the gunshots. Thanks to his training he was able to determine the direction said gunfire was coming from; unfortunately, by that time the sounds had ceased.)

Not good, (Those thoughts which had plagued him before had returned with a vengeance. Regardless, he now had a general location, which was more than he had before. Without a second thought, or even a plan, he rushed in the direction that the gunfire had originated. He continued running, despite his injuries and the near unbearable fatigue which started to set in. Within in a few minutes he had closed the distance and had come upon the scene and with it an unexpected discovery.)

"*mumbles* Son of a-*lets out an exhausted sigh*" (He felt drained, unable to think, to speak; he was surprised that he was able to keep standing albeit a bit wobbly. But those thoughts quickly faded as his attention turned the scene which was still unfolding just a few feet in front of him. The angle wasn't the best, but it still gave him a clear idea of what was happening.)

(Much to his disappointment, one of the creatures had survived the destruction of the facility and worse yet; it had managed to track down at least one of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents that came to this island, one which he recognized immediately.) Trip… (The creature had Trip's wrist within its grasp, twisting just enough that the agent winced out in pain. Before long the creature started punching him in the face again and again and again.) That mother-

(Suddenly he paused, as a breeze blew through and with it a familiar scent; his nostrils flared as he sniffed it twice, afterwards his eyes drifted down and to the left. His eyes widened when he saw her, laying there, motionless, lifeless, which is when panic overcame every fiber of his being.) "*mumbles in a shocked yet soft tone* Jemma?" (Quickly he knelt down next to her, lifting her doll-like body off of the ground, cradling her in his arms.)

Oh god Jemma, what happened to you!? (His calm had quickly been replaced by panic; slowly and gently he stroked her hair as he whispered to her.) "Jemma please, you gotta wake please-please wake up," (Tears started to pool, forming drops which fell, splashing against her pale cheek. He moved his hand to the back of her head while his eye remained on hers. That's when he felt something warm and wet; he removed his hand and his eyes widened as he stared at the small pool of blood.)

No, no, no, no (In that moment, his worst fears had become reality. He clasped her face in his right hand, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb.) I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I should've-(His thoughts went silent as he listened intently to the sound of a heart beating. It was faint, and growing fainter, but it was there and he was relieved to hear it.) Thank god. (He leaned down and kissed her forehead, after which he placed his forehead on hers and closed his eyes.)

"*whispers* You're going to be fine—everything is going to be fine Jemma, I promise." (He kept his forehead on hers as he slid his other hand back behind her head and remained like this until a voice from behind him shouts out.) "HEY!" (That demanding voice broke through his silent haze, bringing him back to situation at hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the man he knew as Phil Coulson, stand there staring down the creature before him.)

"C'mon, is that all you got!?" (Coulson had retrieved a flip knife from his pocket seconds earlier and had flipped it open in anticipation of the creature's attack. The likelihood of the Director surviving such a vicious encounter was slim at best, and the man knew it.) Damnit Coulson, (He turned back to Simmons and gently lowered her head back to the ground. A strand of hair fell into her eyes; he retrieved his left hand and used it to brush the strand out of her eyes and now once again his eyes fells upon his blood-soaked hand.)

(Not soon after, he clenched his hand, forming a fist causing drops of blood to drip out between his fingers. Had Simmons been conscious, she would've have seen the look of panic and fear quickly dissipate, only to be quickly replaced by anger and burning rage. For this, he was grateful that she wasn't, which both relieved and sickened him at the same time. He quickly pushed this singular thought aside and focused on more pressing matters.)

(The pain which was once a hindrance was now fuel that he used to rise to his feet. He stood there for a moment, closing his eyes taking in a deep breath and holding it.)

 **Coulson**

(He glances down at the open flip knife clenched in his hand, mentally sighing at his current no-win situation. Coulson's glare quickly returns to the creature, just in time to catch it snarling at him while balling his hands into club-sized fists.) *sarcastic* _Outstanding…_ (The creature took a step forward, which prompted Coulson to tense up in preparation for the attack.)

 _Well, if I'm going down, I'm going down swing-_ (Suddenly something wraps itself around the creatures' throat, choking it briefly before sending the creature flying the opposite direction.) _-ing?_ (The creature violently hits face first on the ground, meanwhile Coulson's focus and concern were now fixated on this mystery man standing in front of him. He clenched the flip knife tighter in his hand, trying to decide whether or not this mysterious new player is a friend or foe.) "Take it easy Phil…"

(Coulson perked up when the man spoke;) _That voice, it couldn't-_ (Before he could finish that thought, the man slowly turned his head, showing half of his face.) "I've got this." (Coulson's eyes widened and his lips trembling slightly as he recognized the man standing in front of him. His tone was filled with shock and confusion as he spoke.) "Jaxx…?"

 **Jaxx**

 _I know that you have questions Coul; I can see them rattling around in that head of yours, but now is not the time._ (He turned and stared at the creature who was nearly back on his feet. Jaxx started clenching his hands tightly, to the point where his knuckles started to crack. Once it was on its feet, the creature turned its deadly gaze to Jaxx, who gazed into the creatures' feral eyes. All he could see behind those eyes were rage and malcontent.)

W _hoever he was before is long gone, there's no trace left of him thanks to Hydra and they're monster-making serum. All that's left is a mindless beast, one that enjoys killing and is hell-bent on tearing us apart even so, it doesn't make what I have to do any easier._ (The creature bears its teeth and snarls at Jaxx, who remains steadfast, while Coulson and Trip watch as everything unfolds.)

 _I can feel Coulson and Trip's eyes on me, probably wondering what the hell I'm up to; well, you'll guys we see soon enough._ (He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath; as he starts to focus, his body starts to tense.) _12 years I've kept it locked away, hidden from my family, my friends, those I trust…12 excruciating years, down the drain all thanks to Hydra…_ (The creature flexes its muscles and lets out a blood-curdling roar, but Jaxx doesn't move an inch. Suddenly he feels it, that familiar sensation that he thought he would never feel again.)

 _My bones are pulsing, my muscles feel warm and cool at the same time and my nerves feel like they're on fire. I should be terrified, afraid, but as my entire body begins to reverberate I can't help but feel the rush, the intensity and it's awesome…I've missed this._ (The creature grew anxious and angrier with each passing second until it decided that it was tired of waiting; as it launched itself towards the rock steady Jaxx, Coulson shouted out a warning, but it was too late.)

(Jaxx's eyes shot open revealing that his pupils had turned from a hazel grey to an irradiated blue. He grinned briefly as he tightened his fist into a ball and said with furious intent.) "Time to break you!"

 **Present: "The Playground"**

He stood in the doorway of the recovery room suite, leaning to one side with his arms folded in front of his chest. The Director has been standing in that spot for nearly 10 minutes, budging only when the doctor came in to check her vitals. He had yet to change clothes or even take a shower to wash off the dirt and blood. Instead, he watched with a furrowed brow and blank expression as Agent Jemma Simmons rests comfortably in the recovery room bed. Occasionally his eyes would drift to the EKG monitor beside her bed, listening intently as it beeped in unison to with her heart rate.

The doctor which had come to check on Simmons had convinced Coulson to let him stitch up the gash on his right brow to which the Director reluctantly agreed. After it was finished he returned to Simmons room, continuing to watch over her. He heard the footsteps behind him, yet he remained still, even as they spoke. "AC,"

 **Coulson**

 _I look over and see Skye standing there, holding a mug in her hands. She hands it to me and I happily accept._ "I figured that you could use a little pick-me-up so," (Her tone was curious as she watched Coulson take a sip from the mug. He smacks his lips together and gives her a half-smile as he says in a grateful tone.) "Thanks, I needed that."

(Now their attention was focused on Simmons, who stirred a little in the bed.) "So, how's she doing?" (Skye asks, her tone showing a hint of concern.) _All in all, she's lucky to be alive…if Jaxx showed up a minute later-_ (His eyes drifted to the heart rate monitor, watching as the green line peeks up then levels out.) "She's resting. The doctor says that she has a minor concussion and that she needs a few days' rest before resuming her duties."

(Coulson looked over, watching as Skye lets out a sigh of relief and says.) "*mumbles* That's good." (They both nodded as Skye looked down at her feet while Coulson turned to face her.) "How about you?" (Her head snaps up and her eyes meet his; he nods to the right and the two walk out into the hall. He sets his mug down on the floor before taking a seat on said floor; the Director grunted a bit as he leaned against the wall, letting his legs stretch out across the floor.)

(Skye smiled a bit as she started to say,) "Well let's see," (She too takes a seat on the floor, next to Coulson letting out an exhausted sigh; she gave him a sly smile as she continued.) "My entire body feels like I've been doing training drills with May for the last 4 hours' straight, but…aside from that, not too bad considering." _Considering that we narrowly escaped an explosion, only to jump off a cliff, landing in the rapids below where we almost drowned; and on top of that nearly got torn apart by a monster that Hydra created…good times._

(Coulson remained silent as he stared into his coffee. This didn't go unnoticed by Skye who looked over; her tone was a mixture of concern and curiosity when she asked him,) "And you, (Coulson looks up from his coffee, his eyes met her curious glance.) how are you doing with-everything?" (Coulson gave a simple nod and replied neutrally.) "I'm good…"

 **Skye**

 _C'mon AC, I may not be some super-secret spy like Romanoff or May, but I know when your keeping things from me._ (She looked on as he took a sip of his coffee, while staring at the wall across the way. He looks back to see Skye still staring at him with those big brown eyes.) "Skye, I'm fine really." _No you're not AC; for the last week you've been hiding out in your office and shutting me out…Whatever's going on with you—you need to let me in…_

(Coulson realized that she was becoming increasingly concerned about his well-being, so he took another approach and tried to get the conversation focused on something other than himself.) "Have you been to see Trip? How's he holding up?" _Fine, you don't wanna talk about it, fine I'll let it slide, for now…_ (She looks down at her hands which she had resting in her lap; she told the Director about what the doctor's said.) "Trip's doing well, considering that he has a broken wrist, and looks like he got the slapped around by Thor…" (She turns to look at Coulson, who had been looking at her the whole time and she continued.) "The docs' say that he'll need at least 2 ½ weeks to recover before they would even think about clearing him for field work."

(Coulson shot her a sly smile before looking down at his mug; he said sarcastically.) "Bet he was thrilled to hear that." (Skye smiled briefly, as she stated.) "Yea well, I don't think he had much of a choice in the matter. (Smiles a little.) Either way he's asleep now, so… (She looks down at her hands once more.)" (Coulson slowly nods, resting his head against the wall behind him afterwards.)

(Skye looks at him and starts to say something, but stops just as quickly and looks away; just as silence started to fill the air between them, Skye looks over once again and asks.) "How's Jaxx doing? (Coulson's expression remained blank.) I didn't see him in the infirmary with Trip," _The last time I saw him...god…he looked like he'd been through hell and back…twice._ (Coulson glanced over at Skye only briefly, long enough to tell her what he knew.)

"He said that he was going to take a shower and borrow some fresh clothes…" "A shower and fresh-" (Skye's tone was filled with disbelief;) "Coulson, when I woke up, I saw the shape that he was in. He needs to get looked at-treated, who knows what kind of-" "Skye, he's fine, I assure you." (Coulson interjects before she could voice her concerns. She stared at him, befuddled; a few seconds of silence passed between them, which more than enough time for her. She was wanting answers, and she was determined to have them.)

 _You and Trip are keeping something-not just from me…Trip was quiet the entire time that doctors were examining him, which is so unlike him. And when May asked you about what happened with the creature, you just said_ _ **"It's been taken care of…"**_ _Sorry AC, but that's not good enough._ "AC, what happened back there…with the creature…" (Coulson kept his face blank, but Skye continued.) "I know that you told Agent May that it was *She raised her hands, making air quotes* 'Taken care of,' but,"

"We got lucky." (Once more Coulson cuts her off which on fueled her suspicions.) _So, it's confirmed…he is hiding something. Time to push, just a little more,_ "Was it luck, or was it Jaxx?" (Coulson looked away and remained silent, which Skye only took as confirmation. Knowing that she was on the right track, she continued with her questions.) "So Jaxx was the one who…how? Our bullets barely punctured that things skin, how did-"

(Coulson looked over and gave her one of his patented smiles.) _I know that smile, it's the Coulson Special…it's the "I have a secret but it's classified smile." UGGH I hate that._ (The Director hands her his mug, which she takes hesitantly, and he responds with.) "Let's just say, that he's the best there is at what he does; and what he does…"

(He pushes himself off the floor and once on his feet he extends a hand down towards Skye, who takes it. After lifting her up, he takes back the mug and finishes saying.) "Is complicated." _What the hell is that supposed to mean?_ "What exactly is he the best at?" (Skye asks, for which Coulson simply states.) "Sorry, it's a secret." _Really, I thought we were done with secrets._

(Skye was about to say something and almost as if he knew what she was going to ask, he stopped her and responded with.) "And it's not my secret to tell, sorry." (Skye was aggravated, but she understood and could't help but grin a little, knowing that once Coulson has his mind set to something he rarely changes it. She nods mockingly and says.) "Alright, fair enough."

(Coulson looks into the room to his right and for a few seconds he watches as Simmons shifts in her bed.) "Do you mind watching her for a bit? I need to shower and get a change of clothes myself." (Skye gives a nods and states,) "Yes please…" (Coulson shot her a confused look, for which she responded with.) "Sorry, but you do kinda smell like a-" (Coulson interjects.) "Like I've been working out…"

"No…" (Skye states.) "I was going to say that you kinda smell like a donkey fart." (The two couldn't help but crack a smile, and as for Skye's quip, Coulson responded with,) "Ouch and, nice."

 **Personnel Locker Rooms**

 **Bathroom**

He used his hand to wipe away the dew which covered the mirror and found himself staring into his own eyes, while he placed his hands on either side of the sink.

 **Jaxx**

 _How long can you keep this up? The secrets, the lies…you broke it…you broke the lock and now…now there's no going back…to the way things were…is there?_

(He straightens up and his eyes scan over his body, lingering on the various scars which covered his body. Seconds later he moves his hand to the wound just below his right shoulder; a gunshot wound, the first of many scars to come. Just below that scar was a bandage, which slowly started seeping blood. Slowly his hand started to move down to his abdomen, where he gently brushed his fingers against the 3 slash marks which resided there. He had wrapped a bandage around his mid-section, due to the 5 broken ribs which he had acquired.)

 _Was it worth it?_ (His eye shot up back up to the mirror, meeting his once again.) _Was keeping my secret worth all of this…how many times have you cheated death and all for what…to hide who you truly are?_ (His hand returns to side of the sink, his grip getting tighter and tighter.)

(He stood in place for a few more seconds, contemplating his thoughts, until he turned around and took a seat on the locker room bench behind him. Beside him on the left, he had his duffle bag sitting there with him, unzipped and opened. To his right he had laid out a pair of fresh, clean socks and a pair of sneakers resting beside them.)

(As he started putting on the socks, he started debating with himself.) _Maybe I should tell her…I've kept this secret from her for far too long and I'm sick and tired of lying to her. Then again…look at how Coulson reacted…the look in his eyes after it was all said and done…he won't ever say it, but he's afraid of me, afraid of what I can do—what I'm capable of._

(He just finished sliding on his last sock when he placed his elbows on his knees and placed his head into his hands.) _UGGGHHHHH THIS IS GETTING ME NOWHERE! If she found out who I was, what I truly am…she wouldn't see a brother…she'd see an animal, a monster…a freak. But if I tell her, she'll wonder why I've kept this secret from her; best case, she'll be angry at me for keeping her in the dark and would try to fix me somehow. Worst case…_

(He closed his eyes and lifted his head up from his palms, inhaling deeply. After a few minutes of silence, he stood up, turned and looked in his duffle bag. He shifted and shuffled a few things around, but still couldn't seem to find what he was looking for.) "Where the hell-?" (Seconds later he stood up and looked around the area he was standing, shaking his head.)

 _Seriously, where the hell did I put that shirt?_ (He rubbed the stubble on his face; shortly after it hit him and he remembered where it was.) _Damn, I must've left it at the shop…UGGGHHH son of a-_ (Suddenly his nostrils flared when a familiar scent caught his attention; his eyes narrowed as he slowly turned to his left. It was unexpected to say the least to her standing there just a few feet away.) "*Soft tone* Skye…"

 **Minutes Earlier**

 **Recovery Room-Patient 486: Simmons, J**

Coulson had asked Skye to watch over the Simmons, who was resting in one of the recovery rooms, while he went to take a shower and get some fresh clothes. Without hesitation she agreed and not long after Coulson left, leaving Skye standing there watching her friend. Barely 5 minutes had passed when Agent Melinda May had stopped by and the two talked for a few minutes about some things.

Skye informed May that Simmons was going to be fine and that she was just exhausted from the day's mission. Curious, agent May had asked Skye what exactly happened on the island which prompted Skye to tell her side of things. She told May about how they crash landed due to some sort of device that S.H.I.E.L.D. had apparently been developing that was now being used by Hydra.

May had a hard time keeping her emotions in check, especially when Skye told her about the mass-grave that Trip and Jaxx had found. She could only imagine how horrifying that was and how hard it must've been for Coulson and company to stomach. Skye talked about the old WWII facility that they had found, as well as the gruesome blood-drenched scenes that were inside. Agent May was a veteran agent, trained to compartmentalize her emotions, but that became more and more difficult as the story went on.

Even so, Agent May remained silent, asking no questions, she just sat there and listened until Skye was finished.

 **May**

 _I can't believe…they were lucky to have made it out of the facility much less off the island. I should have tried harder to stop Phil from going; should have called Hill and told her to get Stark to handle this mess, would've been easier. Thank god everyone glad it out of there alive. Yet another reason to hate Hydra, as if I needed it._

(The two sat there in silence, both staring at the wall across from them. May occasionally glanced out of the corner of her eye, scanning Skye who was staring at her hands. She was fiddling with something, although May couldn't tell what exactly.) "What have you got there?" (May asks, her words shocking the young agent out of her thoughts. Skye replies.) "It's umm…"

(She passes it to May, who takes a closer look.) _I've seen this before, but wher-_ "It belongs to Jaxx." (Skye says. May's eyes widen from shock, but only for a second as she tried to maintain her composure. May looked over at Skye and asked in a curious tone.) "Where did you-" (Skye shrugged as she interjected.) "I don't know. He must've have slipped it into my pocket before he decided to go all "Army of One" on those things."

(Skye scoffed and smiled a little as she continued.) "I still can't believe he survived…I mean; I know AC said he was a badass but still…" (May couldn't help but smirk in agreement.) "Never underestimate someone like Jaxx, trust me." (May says as she hands the pendant back to Skye. Once she had it back she clasped it in her hand. Her smile remained for a few more seconds before disappearing.)

 _She's worried about him and who can blame her. When I first saw Jaxx coming down the cargo ramp…_ _(Her mind flashed back to the moment when the Iron Wing landed. How she stood there with "Mac" beside her, impatiently with a few of the doctors that her and Trip had rescued earlier in the day. As the ramp lowered she caught glimpses, outlines of people standing inside the plane._

 _Once the ramp was opened her eyes fell first unto Coulson, who had one of Skye's arms over his shoulder. She couldn't help but see how beaten up they were, especially Coulson who had a gash and blood going down the side of his face. Then her eyes fell on Trip and had come stumbling out of the cockpit, his face all bloody and bruised, holding one of his arms. Finally, her laid her eyes upon Jaxx._

 _He was covered in dirt, and blood; he had cuts and gash's on his face and god only knows where else, but what caught May's attention was who he had in his arms. He stood there in the plane carrying Simmons in his arms; it was a sight that got her heart racing, as her worst fear came to the forefront of her mind._

 _She remembered how Jaxx placed Simmons gently on the gurney and how he looked when he watched them wheel her off to the infirmary. Mac and one of the doctors took Trip to the with them to get checked out, but Jaxx refused to be looked. Despite her objections, Jaxx still refused to be looked at and eventually Coulson had to step in. She was surprised when he sided with Jaxx and his reasoning behind it was equally as confusing, but she would have to let it slide…for now._

(She snapped herself out of that memory and back into the present. She looked over to see Skye gently rubbing her thumb over the engravings on the pendant itself. May gently nudged Skye with her shoulder and said.) "Why don't you go check on Jaxx, see if he needs anything." (Skye looked up and for a moment her eyes lit up, but only for a moment until she quickly turned to look into the recovery room and back again.) "I promised AC that I'd stay with her incase anything changes."

 _That's so? I can fix that, simple enough_. "I'll stay. I could use the peace and quiet."

 **Personnel Locker room**

 **Present**

 **Skye**

*soft one* Skye…" (Jaxx's tone was calm and neutral, though the surprised look on his face was anything but. Skye stood there, staring at the various scars which had riddled his chest. She seemed overwhelmed by the sheer volume of scars that she didn't even realize that Jaxx had taken a few steps forward.) _Jesus…I-I can't believe what I'm seeing…He's covered in scars._ (By the time she snapped herself out of her thoughts, he was standing just a few feet from her, looking concerned.)

"Skye-are you okay? (He placed his hands on both of her shoulders, gently squeezing) You look a little pale…". (Her heart started beating faster and faster, her pulse raced and her ears were beginning to throb. She wasn't thinking clearly or even at all; she knew it would be a mistake, but that didn't stop her from grabbing his head and pulling it close. At first their kiss was slow, methodical, an exploration at what is to come.)

(She thought that he would pull away, but was grateful when he didn't; instead, he slid one hand to the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair while the other rested on her lower back. Her hands grasped his back, digging her fingernails in deep as her lips slants across his. Suddenly they stopped, long enough for Skye to leap up and wrap her legs around Jaxx's waist, while he cradled one hand on her leg while the other continued to rest on her back.)

(It wasn't long after they resumed their activity, Jaxx began to slowly and gently lower her down onto the bench. As her back rested against the bench, Jaxx's lips moved away from hers and down the side of her neck. The sensation seemed to go on and on, feeling her entire body reverberating for what seemed like hours; it was almost too much for her to bare and suddenly…)

"Earth to Skye, hey…" (Jaxx's voice snapped Skye back to reality where she found her eyes meeting his. He gives her a confusing look shortly before asking.) "Are you okay? You look a little…pale." (Skye chuckles nervously, replying) "Yea, no um…*clears throat* I'm good, yea *nods nervously* good, good."

 _Relax Skye, it was just-you were daydreaming that's all, wasn't the first time and it won't be the last so, just relax._ (Jaxx tilts his head to one side as he looked on, growing curious by the second.) "You sure? Cause your acting a bit flustered." (Skye crinkles her face for a quick second as she says.) "*Scoffs* Me, flustered? No, no not at all I'm totally not flustered, I'm actually immune to fluster."

(Skye's humor fell short, mainly because she wasn't very convincing, at least that's what Jaxx thought. He shot her a subtle smile and states) "You're a bad liar Skye. Hell, your almost as bad as Simmons." _Wow that's-very hurtful and insulting, I am totally a better liar than Simmons, by far, so…_ (Jaxx took a step forward, closing the gap between him and her; they were mere inches from each other, and he was close enough that she could smell his aftershave flowing off of him.)

(Her heart started fluttering and her eyes widened a bit. He clasped both her shoulders in his hands and squeezed them gently, which caused her mind to shoot back to the fantasy she had just a few minutes earlier.) _Holy-this can't be happening, is this really happening?_ (He leaned in slowly until his lips was inches away from hers; that's when her pulse started to race and her heart felt like it was going to explode from her chest.)

"*whispers softly* I can see it; that curiosity in your eyes, it's kinda hard to miss." (His voice was soothing, which only made her long or his kiss even more. She waited for what seemed like a lifetime until finally, her impatience got the better of her and she opened her eyes to an unexpected sight.)

(She was so focused on what she wanted to happen that she didn't even notice as when he stopped touching her shoulders and now; he had taken a few steps back, leaving feeling confused.) _What the-what's-_ (Before she could finish her thought, he looked down at his chest then back at her.) "You wanna know how I got *Waves his hands around the areas of his chest that were covered in scars* these…right? That's why you seem a little…off?"

(Skye didn't realize that she had been holding her breath for so long, not until she released it in one heavy sigh.) _Wow, whew that was…intense._ Part of her was relieved, mostly at the fact that he didn't actually know what she was thinking, the other part; felt disappointed, cheated even, but regardless she glad to be moving on from the subject.)

(It wasn't until she looked away and down at her feet that she started to chuckle at the idea of what she was daydreaming about. After a few seconds she regained her composure and looked back up at him, only to see him staring back at her, giving her a curious look.) "*clears throat* Sorry it's just-I was remembering something and it was *chuckles nervously* it's a…" (Skye stated. She watched as his expression quickly changed from curious to confused.) "You had to be there…"

(Within seconds the room became filled with an uncomfortable awkward silence. After nearly a minute of unbearable silence, Skye decided to break through the silence with a question.) "So, *points to his chest briefly* how many do you have-scars I mean not…" (She found herself staring at his chest once again, watching as beads of water slid down his chest and down his abs.)

 _He's really…really ripped-wait no, focus. Keep your mind on task, you have questions and need answers…focus._ (Jaxx stands there, wearing a sly smile and nodding as he answered Skye's question.) "Too many if you ask me." (He turned around and flipped the flap of his duffle bag open and started shuffling some things around; part of him could swear that he had a spare shirt hidden away inside somewhere, only to find none.)

(Meanwhile, Skye's eyes widened the second she saw his back, with it, even more scars.) _Jeez_ (Her eyes scanned his entire back, taking note of the different scars which encompassed most of his back.) _My god, I can't-how is he still walking around-how is he still alive for that matter?_ (She did her best to remain silent as she slowly took a step toward Jaxx, who was still searching through his bag.)

 _What happened to him? How does he-_ (Suddenly he stopped, and stood back up and turned around, staring at Skye. She stopped dead in her tracks as he stood there unflinchingly, staring into her eyes. She swallowed hard, as she stared into his eyes which seemed to pierce through her, as if he were trying to read her mind.) "It's not as bad as it looks." (Jaxx says, shooting her a half-hearted smile.)

 _And you say that I'm a terrible liar *scoffs*, but still…I can't even begin to imagine what he went through, what he's been through. I can barely stand seeing the scars on my stomach, from where Ian Quinn shot me; I can only wonder how he feels about his._ (Jaxx flipped the flap on his duffle bag down, letting out a disappointing sigh and mumbling to himself.) "Can't believe I didn't pack a spare tee."

(Though he was mumbling to himself, Skye could still hear what he was saying. She turned to her left and opened the locker; reaching inside, she pulled out a grey tee that had been thrown in there recently.) "Here, *she turned to Jaxx, holding out the crumpled up tee* I'm sure Trip wouldn't mind." (Though hesitant at first, Jaxx graciously accepted her offer and took the tee.)

"Thanks. *starts un-crumpling the tee* I owe him one." (Once it was un-crumpled, he started putting it on. He slid his arms into the sleeves slowly, wincing a little with each slight movement. The pain was coming from his ribs, which he assumed were only bruised, but this consensus quickly fell through when he went to slid his head through. A sharp pain shot through him, causing him to grunt out in pain; it was then that he knew that he had at least 3, maybe 4 broken ribs.)

(He tried his best to keep the pain in, trying not to give Skye any cause for concern, unfortunately his grunt had caught her attention and her queries.) "Are you okay?" (Once he had the shirt on, he shot her a smile and a nod and replied through gritted teeth.) "Yeah, just some bruised ribs, that's all." _Seriously, does he honestly expect me to believe that…bruised ribs, more like broken._

(Skye folded her arms in front of her chest and stood there for a moment, when suddenly a question popped into her head; it was the same question which had plagued her mind ever since S.H.I.E.L.D. fell and the team went into hiding. Jaxx looked over and saw that she seemed to be staring off into the distance, lost in her thoughts.) "Hey Skye," (She snaps out of her thoughts, turning her attention to Jaxx, who continues.) "Got something on your mind?"

"It's nothing just…" (Jaxx could sense her hesitation, her reluctance to say what is on her mind. He gave her a reassuring look, trying his best to make her feel at ease, even so, she seemed reluctant.) _Don't give me that look, it's the same look Coulson gives me when he knows I'm hiding something._ "Something's bugging you Skye, what is it?" (Jaxx asks as he takes a seat on the bench; seconds later he motions to the empty space next to him.)

(Skye unfolds her arms and lets them drop to her sides as she decides what exactly she wants to do. She thought about brushing it off and burying it deep down inside, but instead she slowly takes a seat next to Jaxx. She gripped the edge of the bench and breathed out slowly as she stared at the locker in front.) "For the last week I have been driving myself crazy, pushing myself day in and out trying to undo the damage that Hydra has done to. It's-" (Jaxx interjects) "Tiresome."

(Skye looked over at Jaxx who gave her a sympathetic look and a quick smile. Seconds later she looks down at her feet and mumbles,) "Yeah…" (Her emotions were starting to rise to the surface, every ounce of pain every ounce of hate and fear was like a tidal wave crashing against her, yet she kept it in check. After a moment she looks up and finds herself staring at the locker in front of her, thinking.) "Everything that we have done, all the good that we've accomplished as a team has been tainted, by Hydra, by-"

(She stopped herself from saying his name, knowing that even thinking about what he had done to them would only bring up more misery. Jaxx knew who she was referring to, he also knew how much his betrayal hurt the team, how much it hurt her. From her silence he could tell that she had cared about him at one point or another, but now…)

(He thought it best not to say anything, instead he waited for Skye to finish venting. Every emotion that she had, that had been bubbling to the surface had gave way to uncertainty, one which she shared with Jaxx.) "I honestly don't know if…it was worth the price." (Jaxx lets out a heavy sigh, one which Skye catches.)

 _Great, just-he's sitting here covered in scars and I'm complaining and piling all of my crap to him…Way to go Skye._ (Skye lowered her head and couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed for just putting her problems out there, but if anyone understood what she was going through, it was Jaxx. He looked at the locker in front of him and searched deep within himself for the answer that he felt would help her make sense of her dilemma.) "A few years back, before…the Chitauri Invasion in New York and Hydra rearing its ugly head again,"

(She looks up and over, staring at Jaxx intently as she waited on what he was going to say next.) "My squad and I were stationed at a military outpost, just a few clicks outside of Kandahar. We were barely a week in when one of our convoys' was hit; ambushed by a small group of insurgents that was part of a larger force known as The Ten Rings. The convoy was loaded with supplies that, were supposed to be for a local village which was aiding us in our fight against the group."

(Skye remained silent, not knowing much about the group, The Ten Rings. Jaxx rested his elbows on his legs and continued.) "It was the 3rd convoy hit that week; 2 others were hit the week before, both encounters left no survivors." (She could see it in his face, his expression; it was of loss, of a sense of failure, even though he knew that he wasn't responsible. Jaxx continued.)

"Word came down from command the next day, that all convoys to the village, were to cease. They said that it wasn't worth losing more soldiers…" (Skye's heart sunk a little,) _I couldn't even imagine…_ (She looked away for a moment, before looking back and saying.) "It must've been difficult, for them to come to that decision." (Jaxx chuckled a bit and replied) "I'm sure it was, but they didn't have all the information. You see, the village in question consisted of mainly old men, women and children."

"*low tone*My god," (Skye says, once more she looks away as her mind tried to comprehend such a tough decision. Meanwhile Jaxx continued to regale her.) "Officially the whole base was ordered to stand down, unofficially…" (He paused for a moment, recalling the decision that he had made, a decision that he would never forget.)

"There was one last attempt, to try a get the supplies to the village. The Base commander wasn't about to order his troops to go on a suicide run, so…12 of us volunteered and we were off the next day." (He looked down at his feet. Skye looked at him and saw the wanderlust written on his face. She asked) "What happened…with the supplies and the village?"

(Jaxx lets out a heavy sigh and gave her an answer.) "It was tough, but we managed to get the supplies to the village. On top of that, we managed to push the insurgents out of the area. But it came at a heavy cost…" (Skye could see the light in his eyes dim a little and she knew. She asked) "How many…did you lose?"

(Jaxx gulped heavily before answering.) "12 of us went out…only 5 of us came back. One of the survivors was a recruit…Private Jack P. Borrows. He asked me, if it was all worth it…" (Skye hesitated to ask, but found herself unable to stop herself from asking.) "What did you say?" (Jaxx nodded then turned to her and replied.) "I told him, that there are things in this world, that are worth the risk, but require sacrifice. Protecting people…is worth the price."

(His soulful hazel eyes locked with her brown doe eyes, before he looked down at his chest and stating.) "Each scar I have, represents a life that I've saved, not because I had to, but because it was the right thing to do." (He sits up straight and sports a strange smile, as if he had just told himself a joke.) "You probably don't know but…I was at the Triskelion when it all went down."

(Jaxx said) _Wait, hold-a-sec; you were at the Triskelion, with Captain freakin America and Black Widow?!_ (He could see the amazement in her eyes, which caused his smile to grow even more.) "I remember what he said, just before everything fell. "The price of freedom is high, but it's a price that I'm willing to pay." *chuckles a bit*"

"Wow," (Skye says with a smile slowly creeping across her face.) "That's…inspiring." (Jaxx continued to smile as he nodded in agreement. He retorted) "It was, and it's true. Whether it's a kid from Brooklyn, who would later grow into a living legend, or a petite yet perky little hacktivist turned level 1 agent; all of us have the choice, to either let someone fight for our freedom, or we can choose to fight for ourselves."

 _Wow, that actually makes sense…not bad for a grunt. It was Coulson-esqe._ (She takes his words to heart and thought she wouldn't admit it, she was inspired. She sat up straight and shot him a smile as she graciously said.) "Nice, very nice speech." (Jaxx shrugged and replied) "Well, I hope it helped."

(Skye nodded and stated) "I think it did, so thanks." (The two share a smile for a minute, before she stood up.) "I'm going to go check in on Trip and see how he's doing. After I was thinking of getting something to eat, you want in." (Jaxx nodded and replied) "Sounds good. *Stands up*" (The two walked side by side out of the locker room; just before exiting Skye looked over and asked.) "Petite, really?"

(He shot her a smile and replied jokingly) "And perky, don't forget perky." (She lets out a small laugh as she replies) "Oh how can I forget…"


	13. Strange is the new Normal

**Author's Note:** **Hey ladies and gents. I was originally going to make this the last chapter, but it being the holiday season I figured that it'd be a nice gift for all those who follow this story. There will be at least 2 more chapters after this, once this particular story is done I'll move on to another fanfic; don't worry I'm not done with this series, (and yes I said series). Anyways thanks for everyone who enjoys this story and for those who have asked if Jaxx is Logan/Wolverine all I can say is...stay tuned. Though it's not necessary, leave a review and let me know how your enjoying the story thus far. I wish you all a happy holiday and I'll catch you all in the next chapter.**

 **P.S.** **I do not own any characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all I own is my imagination and some OC's.**

 **Place: Unknown**

 **Time: Unknown**

She was silent and motionless as she lies in her bed, breathing slowly, but steady. Her eyes twitch as she dreams about a mission so strange that it seemed like something that she had to have seen in a movie, or on an episode of Doctor Who. In the midst of her dreams she heard a voice, one that was soft and calming, calling out to her over and over… " _Jemma…Jemma…_ " it kept calling, slowly stirring her from her slumber as it called out once more " _Jemma!_ " From that, her eyes snap open and jerked herself upright.

Her breathing holds for a moment, but releases when she realized that it was all merely a dream. She placed her face in her hands as she fell back down, her head flopping on the fluffy pillow beneath her. After rubbing her face, she placed her hands on her stomach; she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment.

 **Simmons**

 _Bloody hell…that's it, no more Doctor Who before bed; secret islands and genetic monsters, what a_ \- (Her thoughts and attention turned to the ceiling, the same ceiling that she had been staring at for over a minute.) Wait-a-tic… (She immediately sat up and started looking around; though she wasn't where she had expected to find herself, where she was currently being familiar nonetheless.)

"Am I-how did-why am I on The Bus of all places?" (She grips the sheet covering her and flings it off of her; she noticed that she was fully dressed, and that her clothes were remnant of her most recent dream, all the way down to the dirt which crusted her shoes.) _When did I-I don't remember getting dressed…What in the bloody hell is going on here-_ " _ **Jemma**_ " (The sudden voice whispering her name, echoing in her bunk snapped her from her thoughts.)

(Her attention became fixated on the door, the point from which the voice had originated.) "*trembling tone* Hello…Hello?" (The tremble in her voice was unmistakable, she knew that much at least. And yet despite every frighten nerve in her body told her not to, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and slowly stood up. Within caution and uncertainty, she took a step towards the door; her breathing was growing frantic the closer she got to the door, all the while she nervously rubbed her fingers together.)

(At first she was hesitant, but once more she overcame her emotional fears and slowly reached out for the door, sliding it open. After a few quick seconds she peeked her head out, scanning the area for any threats or anything out of the ordinary.) _Looks clear enough…_ (She takes a step out into the recreational area and turned to her right.) "*softly* Hello…is anyone there?"

(Barely a seconds passes when a familiar voice responded, startling her in the process.) "Good to see you up Simmons." What the- (She turns around to see a familiar face, smiling at her current condition.) Jeez, Director Coulson, someone needs to put a bloody bell on you, sneaking up on me like that, my word. (Her heart was racing and her pulse pounding like a drum, fortunately upon seeing the friendly face of the Director her nerves began to settle.)

"*sighs heavily* Director Coulson, sir-you, gave me quite a fright *chuckles nervously*." (He gave her one of his patented mischievous smiles as he replied sarcastically.) "Really? I hadn't noticed." Sarcasm is very unbecoming sir; regardless I'm glad to see at least one friendly face. (Simmons took a couple slow, deep breaths as she tried to regain her composure; once she felt at ease she figured that it was time to get some answers.)

"Umm sir, if you don't mind me asking-why are we on The Bus? I thought that it wasn't fully operational and for that matter, where are we flying to; are we heading back to base or…?" (Coulson smile faded, turning into a grin instead as he stood there silent. Simmons started to feel uneasy once more as she too stood there waiting for him to answer.) _Umm, okay…this is beginning to feel a bit creepy I mean, he's just standing there like-_ (Out of nowhere, Coulson speaks which nearly startles her once again.)

"To answer your first question, because this place makes you feel at ease and second, we're heading nowhere in particular." (He looks down at the black folder in his hands and starts to sign something on the paper, meanwhile Simmons was left pondering.) "I don't-I don't understand sir?" (Coulson finished signing before looking up and replying,) "Don't you?"

 _Okay that's not at all disconcerting, also…_ (Simmons asks.) "Sir, where is everybo-" (Coulson interjects) "They're around, but right now, I need you go down to lab…he's waiting for you." I-I don't understand, who's waiting for me? (Before she could get any words out, he jerks his head towards the stairs behind her; she turns towards the stairs and asks,) "Umm sir, who exactly is waiting?"

(She stared at the stairs, while Coulson answered, his voice seeming to fade.) "You'll see for yourself." (When she turned around, she was shocked to see that he had vanished, no trace that he ever existed.) _Where did he-how did he-_ " _ **Jemma…**_ " _That voice, where is it coming from…more importantly, who is it that keeps calling for me._ " _ **Jemma…**_ " (She turned once again towards the stairs, which is where the ghost-like voice seemed to be leading her.)

 _Bloody hell…this is not at 'tall creepy as hell._ (Despite her fearful uncertainty, she summoned what courage she had and started to walk towards the stairs. Once there, she stood at the top of the stairs for a minute, before hesitantly descending down to the cargo hold area/makeshift laboratory. Halfway down, she noticed that the cargo hold was relatively empty, which only seemed to fuel her growing concerns.)

(As she reached the bottom of the steps, she turned towards the lab to see someone unexpected working inside the lab. She stood there, frozen in shock, her eyes started to well up and her body started to shake a little.) No, no it can't be…it's not possible "*voice trembling* Fitz…?"

(She stood in the doorway, utter shock frozen on her face as she watched the man she knew as Leopold Fitz, standing next to the center island workstation. He was leaning over on the table tinkering with one of the D.W.A.R.F.'s the he and Simmons had developed; his mind was so fixated on the work in front of him that he neglected to see Simmons standing in the doorway of the lab just a few feet away.)

(Her legs felt like they were about to buckle as she used every ounce of strength she had to keep herself standing and not collapsing to the floor. As tears started to streak down her cheeks she put her hands up to her mouth in attempt stop muffled her whimpering and hide her quivering lips.) _This can't be happening-this has to be a dream, it has to be, he can't-_ (Fitz tosses the mini screwdriver that he was using next to the D.W.A.R.F. and lets out a disgruntled sigh; he briefly stood up and placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose while he clenched his eyes closed.)

(He mumbled to himself for a few seconds before returning to work on the device; all the while Simmons tried her best to regain her composure, quickly using her hands to wipe away the tears and the streaks along with them.) _*inhales deeply* Okay, get it together ol' girl…can't go in there looking like a mess now, can we…_

(She nervously tugs on her shirt in an attempt to clear up any wrinkles that her shirt might've had; after she fussed with her hair for a quick second, making sure that it was neat and tidy before taking a deep breath once more. She could feel goosebumps on the back of her neck start to form as she walked slowly into the lab.)

(There she was, standing next to the man who she has known since her early days at the Academy, who would later not only become her partner and close friend, but would also sacrifice himself to save her; she often thought back to that moment, the moment where he, in his own way, confessed how he felt about her and it would linger there, for hours until it became unbearable.)

(And now that he was here, standing before her and she couldn't seem to bring herself to speak, to say what she needed to. What words could express how she felt when he expressed how he felt or when he willingly gave his life for hers. Instead she opted to keep things, casual.) "*clears throat* Hey Fitz *smiles nervously* what'cha doing there?" (He looks up from the device briefly to address her query.)

"Hey Jemma…*sighs heavily* I'm trying to finger out why Sleepy's Video Sensor Array isn't transmitting and I've taken the bloody thing apart I don't know how many times and I can't for the life of me figure out why. At first I thought that one of the PPM-SUM Analog Receiver's was malfunctioning but they seem intact, so then I decided to check the-" (Simmons interjected) "The Video TX Filter Lens," (Fitz snaps his fingers and nods as he replied.)

"That's exactly what I thought, so I replaced and still it doesn't seem to be working. *places his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose and begins to gently squeeze* Bloody things' giving me a headache." (Simmons couldn't help but smile, not at his frustration but at the face he made during.) _Same old Fitz, it's like he hasn't changed at 'tall…I can't believe how much I've missed this…_

(It took a few fleeting moments, but she managed to snap herself from her thoughts and focused on the current matter at hand.) "What about the Digital Trans-Servo Connector? If there was-" (He removed his fingers from and shook his head and replied) "I've checked that the last dozen times I took it apart, there's no missing pieces, nothing inside is broken…" (Simmons replies,) "As I was saying, if there was a power surge of some kind, it could have reset the frequency of the Bandwidth Module and there by-" (Fitz looked down at the device as he finished her sentence.)

"Caused the Video Transceiver to-" (Simmons and Fitz say simultaneously) "Lose its origin frequency." (The two share a quick smile before Simmons holds her hand out, saying playfully.) "If I may…" (Fitz picks up the mini screwdriver from before and gently placed it in her hand and replied.) "There you go." (She quickly went to work on the D.W.A.R.F., twisting one of the audio baring's slowly clockwise; a few seconds later, the tablet to Fitz had connected to the drone earlier suddenly turned on.)

(The screen reflected their images back at them and the two share a laugh for their success a hug. She held him tightly, and he her and in that moment, a moment that she wished would never end, she was in bliss. She clenched her eyes closed and wished, prayed that when she opened her eyes, that he would still be there, waiting.)

(Hesitantly, she slowly opened her eyes; her eyelids felt heavy, almost as if she had been asleep for days, weeks even. At first, everything was blurry to the point where she could barely make out any shapes, but after a few quick blinks her vision started to clear. Once her vision returned, her eyes scanned the room and soon her gaze turned to the monitors beeping to her left.) _Was it-it was all a dream…_

(She started to shuffle a bit, but quickly became hindered by a mixture of numbness and soreness running through her entire body.) _Ugghh, what the-I feel so bloody sore…I haven't felt like this since my first day of gym class back in the 5_ _th_ _grade. Can barely move at 'tall._ (She continued to struggle to sit up, and not soon after she was finally able to sit up, her head started throbbing.) _AGH! Bloody hell,_

(After raising her hand to her forehead, she found that it was no simple headache or migraine. Soon, she found the throbbing was coming from the back of her head; she reached behind and gently touched the spot that was throbbing. She winced and gasped out, the pain which lasted for a few painful seconds, left quite the impression.) "*mumbles* That was bloody smart *winces a little*…"

"Not really," (Simmons froze, not just in body but her mind as well ;) _That voice…_ (She looked to her right and there, standing in the doorway of the ICU room was someone all too familiar to her.) "*shocked/confused tone* Agent May?" _It can't be-how did-_ (The veteran agent stood in the doorway, her arms crossed in front of her chest, sporting a tiny grin. May replied sarcastically.) "Last time I checked,"

(Not soon after May walked into the room and over to the right-side of Simmons' bed, her grin slowly fading. As she stood next to her, Agent May noticed the look of confusion plastered across the young agent's face. Simmons breathing started increasingly rapidly and in an effort to calm her; May placed her hand on Simmons' shoulder and asked.) "*soft tone* Simmons, are you okay?"

 _I can't-am I really here? At the Playground?_ _But how did-when did-okay this is becoming too much. I need to just, calm down and regain some sense of my composure, secondly…I need to determine what in the bloody hell is going on._

 _Okay then, that's better, now think ol' girl; what is the last thing that you-I remember…_ (May's concern started to grow as Simmons remained silent, lost within her own thought process.) "Simmons?" (Unfortunately May grew even more worried than before as Simmons continued to remain silent. Then suddenly out of nowhere, she shot up, turned to May and said with an urgent tone.)

"Oh god-what happened to the others? Are they-" (Before she could finish, her muscles began to ache and the numbing, throbbing pain returned which caused her to wince.)

 **May**

"Simmons, calm down," (Agent May gently grabs Simmons by her shoulders in an effort to ease her anxiousness.) "They're alive, a little worse for wear but alive." (Simmons exhales deeply, looking relieved to hear May's words. Slowly she started to lie back down against the pillow, wincing as the back of her head touched the pillow.)

 _She's lucky, that it was only a mild concussion; it could have been a lot worse. At least she's calm down, for the moment. I can't imagine what she-they went through, but from what I saw when they landed…it must have been hell._ (May turns to the table on her left, where a clear jug full of water sat next to an empty clear glass. She filled the glass about half way before turning back to Simmons and holding it out to her.) "Drink…"

(Simmons knew better than to argue, and besides she was quite thirsty from the way she chugged the water down in nearly 3 seconds flat.) _I guess she was thirsty…_ (After finishing, Simmons looked up and saw May staring at curiously; feeling slightly embarrassed she shyly handed the glass back to May who was ready to fill it once more.)

"Another?" (May asks. Simmons shakes her head, reluctant to embarrass herself further, but besides that, the first glass had quenched her thirst. As May placed the glass back on the table, afterwards she sat on the edge of the bed, silent as she analyzed the bed-ridden agent before her.) _Besides the bump on the back of the head and a few scratches, she looks no worse for wear, she's lucky._

(Before she could ask a question, Simmons turned to her and asked her a question of her own.) "How are they? Coulson, Skye, and Trip how bad-" _That's the second time that she left out Jaxx's name…what happen between them on the island?_ (May stopped her once more and replied.) "Coulson and Skye are a little bruised some minor cuts and like you they look exhausted. But besides that they're fine. Trip is in the ICU, resting; the doctors say that he needs 2 weeks' minimum to fully recover. All of you were lucky, considering the alternative."

(Simmons quickly retorted, mumbling under her breath.) "Yes, well… (She looks away, a haunting look washing over her face.) Not all of us were as lucky." _She's beating herself up, but for what? Maybe she blames herself for not saving Dr. Streiten…from what Skye told me, there was nothing that could be done. I won't let her blame herself for something that was out of her control._

"Simmons, I know that it must be hard, but you can't blame yourself for what happened." (Simmons looked up and met May's gaze, after which the veteran agent replied.) "Skye told me what happened…I'm sorry." (May's tone was sincere, almost heartbroken; Simmons had never heard that tone from her before and hearing it now made it difficult to keep her heartache at bay.)

(Instead of breaking down, looked away just as her eyes started to well up; after a few seconds of silence, Simmons finally spoke, her tone feeling distant.) "Don't be sorry, it was my fault…I should've tried harder I should've done something, anything, but I was just-I wasn't strong enough." (Once more May place her hand on Simmons' shoulder and stated) "Don't do that…don't do that to yourself Simmons. This is a war, and sometimes…"

"…Sometimes we lose people like Dr. Streiten, like-" (Simmons interrupts May) "Like Jaxx…" _Wait, what? Jaxx? He's fine…why does she think that he's dead...? What happened out there, to make her think that he was anything other than alive?_ _Maybe…she was out cold when they brought her in, maybe she doesn't know…_ (Just as she was about to speak, agent May is interrupted by a sudden and unexpected knocking sound coming from behind her.)

(She turns around and sees a familiar face standing there, smiling.) "Hey May, just wanted to check in; see how Simmons is doing…" _Skye, this is the definition of bad timing..._ (May gave her an empty smile which faded just as quickly as it came; afterwards she replied.) "Perfect timing," (She stepped out of the way, giving both Skye and Simmons a chance to see one another.)

(They share a smile as Skye quickly makes her way over to Simmons bedside. She fought the urge to give the young biochemist a hug, out of fear that hugging her might hurt her further. Instead she stood at the bedside, smiling as she said.) "*soft tone* Hey, there she is," (Simmons smiled back, ecstatic that her friend was alive and well. She replies,) "Good to see you too Skye."

May stood next to the doorway, watching from afar as the two converses as though it was any other day. Eventually, Director Coulson stopped by for a visit, to check on her as well.

"Looks like I missed the party," (Says a smirking Director Coulson. He enters the room and walks to the other side of the of the hospital bed; grasping the railing he gave Simmons a once over, taking in to account how exhausted that she looked.) "Nope, you're just in time AC," (Skye says. Coulson shoots her a humored look, before returning his gaze to the bed-ridden agent.)

"How're you feeling?" (He asks his tone full of sincere concern. Simmons gives him an exhausted smile and replies,) "Just a bit tired 'tis all sir; nothing a few days of rest won't fix." (Coulson's gaze drifts from her to Skye and the two share a mental conversation, before he turns to her and says.) "Hopefully not too tired, because we have a surprise for you." (Simmons appeared amused, and sounded as much when she asked.)

"A surprise? What surprise sir?" (Coulson grin quickly turns into a smile as he replied simply,) "See for yourself," (He jerks his head up, towards the direction of the doorway; Skye moved to the foot of her bed, giving Simmons a chance to see him, standing in the doorway smiling as he said.) "Hey there, miss me.?" (Simmons eyes widened a mixture of shock, confusion and pure joy encompassed her face as her eyes started to well up with tears.) "*voice breaks* Jaxx?!"

May, Skye and Coulson stood there, watching as Jaxx slowly entered the room and with him came an emotional hour. Simmons was in disbelief, thinking that she was hallucinating or at best was dreaming again; but when he touched her hand, his fingers intertwining with hers she knew in an instant that it was all real. She nearly leapt up from the bed, hugging him like never before and he hugged her in turn.

They held each for what seemed like forever, while in reality only seconds had passed. Simmons asked the usual questions that Jaxx had expected were coming; how did I survive the creatures? How did he make it out of the facility before mere seconds before its impending destruction and so forth from there. Though his answers were vague, Simmons didn't care, all she cared about was the fact that he was alive and here.

The next few hours went by rather smoothly; Coulson and May left to go to his office and discuss a few things, while Skye stayed behind with Jaxx and Simmons, listening as Jaxx told stories of their youth. After a while, Skye and Jaxx left to give Simmons some time to rest; afterwards Skye left to check in on Trip, leaving Jaxx to his own devices. He knew that Coulson would want to talk to him about what had happened, more specifically about what had happened with the facility and what he had done to the creature.

After a moment to himself, reflecting on the pros and cons of telling Coulson his secret, he decided that it was past time to share what he knew, about himself, about what he could do and more specifically, what he was. Once Jaxx arrived at Coulson's office door which was closed, he paused as he reached for the door when he could hear voices inside. He listened intently as they discussed what had happened on the island, which mainly consisted of May asking about details on what had happened on the island.

Coulson gave his usual vague responses, especially in regards to what happened with Jaxx and why Simmons and Skye thought he was dead. Jaxx could feel a twinge in his gut; he never liked to eavesdrop, but that was before Hydra, back when everything was somewhat normal. Suddenly the voices quieted down and a few seconds later the door opened and May walked out, closing the door behind her. Her gaze immediately met his and from the frown that she was currently sporting he could tell that she was irritated by Coulson's lack-luster responses.

Even though she knew that he wouldn't flat out give her an answer she decided to ask Jaxx anyway. "I don't suppose that you would care to shed some light what happened out there?" Jaxx held back a smirk that was trying to force its way to the surface, instead he cleared his throat and with a single word, a name, he could give her a clearer picture of what happened without actually saying it. "Do you remember Burma…09?" At first May appeared confused, so much that she re-stated "Burma?"

It took her only a few seconds to remember that date, to remember what happened on that assignment; it was one that she would quickly like to forget, but much like Bahrain, it stuck with her. "That bad?" Jaxx said nothing; he just stood there leaning against the doorway, a somber look on encompassing his face. That look was enough for her, enough to satisfy her curiosity on the subject. She twists the door knob and opened the door just slightly; she started to walk past him when she suddenly stopped, gently placing her hand on his shoulder and once more they met each other's gaze.

"He's closing himself off, shutting us all out. If he won't talk to any of us, maybe he'll talk to you." Jaxx could tell from the way she looked at him and the way that she sounded that she was genuinely concerned for him; of course, knowing their particular history, he wasn't really surprised. Still, if May, a person known for keeping her emotions to herself, outright asked for help then something was definitely wrong. He responded with a simple nod and that simple nod was enough to ease May's tension.

She nodded gratefully before walking off to punch away her frustrations of the day; the second that she turned the corner he gripped the door knob, pushed open the door and walked inside, closing the door behind him. Jaxx took a few steps forward and then suddenly he stopped, mid-center of the room. To his right was a couch, which is where Director Coulson was sitting, eyes closed, head resting against the back of the couch.

But, his gaze quickly drifted to his left, where it fell upon the Director's mahogany desk, more specifically the place mat which lay within the center. His gaze fixated on that place mat for what seemed like days, before drifting to the lower left corner of the mat where he noticed a scratch. Most passerbies wouldn't even be able to see it, but Jaxx was different and he knew that it was no mere scratch.

He quickly turned to his right and stared at Coulson for a few seconds, taking note of the exhausted look that he was currently sporting. On the table in front him was a bottle of unopened Tennessee Whiskey and next to it was two empty glass's waiting to be filled. Jaxx couldn't help but smirk a little as he made his way over to the couch, where he took a seat at the other end. Just as Jaxx started to get comfortable, Coulson opened his eyes and lifted his head.

Slowly he started stirring to life, letting out an exhausted grunt in the process; he scooted to the edge of the couch, reached out and grabbed the bottle. The Director unscrewed the lid and proceeded to pour the whiskey into each of the glasses, filling them about halfway. After sitting the bottle down, still opened, he took both glasses and handed one over to Jaxx, who graciously took it without saying a word.

 **Coulson-Jaxx**

(Jaxx & Coulson gently tapped one another's glass; afterwards they took a slow swig of their drinks. The whiskey was room temperature and was smooth; like silk splashing against the back of their throats.)

J- "Damn," _That's unexpected...Coul usually serves bourbon, but this...not bad_

C- "Yeah, *he says with a grin* I thought you might like it." _I prefer bourbon myself but still; this'll do in a pinch_

J- "And where have you been hiding this?"

(He remains silent, his stare fixated on the unopened bottle of whiskey still sitting on the table. A smirk quickly crossed his face,)

C- "It was a gift, from Audrey,"

J- "*looks over at Coulson* Audrey, the cellist?"

(Coulson takes another swig of whiskey from his glass, afterwards he nodded.)

C- "One and the same."

(A mixture of confusion and shock encompassed his face, all the while his mind started to wonder about Audrey.)

J- _He hasn't mentioned her since before New York...does she even know that he's alive? Knowing Coulson, probably not._ "When-"

C- *Interjects* "2 weeks prior to New York, before Loki Shiskabobed me. And before you ask...no, she doesn't know that I'm alive, and it has to remain that way."

(Jaxx looked away for a moment, trying his best to sort out this new and recent bit of Intel.)

J- _Man, Coulson and Audrey...they were close. I remember the way he talked about her, and how you could hear that little pep in his tone. Damn shame._

C- "Anyways, I've been holding on to it since then."

J- "*looks over for a moment, before taking another swig of whiskey* and you brought it out now because?"

C- "*subtly shakes his head* Just figured; after the day we just had, well...I'd say that we've earned this."

J- _Yeah, you can say that again. I'm so tired...my entire body feels like I did a 3 hour training session with Natasha, UGH._ "Couldn't agree more. Today was...full of surprising revelations." _Never thought that I would have to become that thing, that animal, again...I was such a fool._

C- _You don't have to tell me; I was there remember. Still, what you did...it was...well, unexpected doesn't even begin to describe it, but...at least now I know why Fury was so adamant to have you for the Avengers Initiative._ *looks over, his expression blank* "Yeah well, some surprised me more than others."

J- "Was wondering when we would get to that." *takes one last swig, finishing what little whiskey was left in the glass* _I just wish that I had some answers, but all I've got is questions._

C- *shoots a sly smile* "I was trying to be subtle; ease into it."

J- *joking tone* "Do I really look someone needs to be "eased" into the subject?" *glances over at Coulson, smirk crossing his face*

C- *looks down at his glass, watching the whiskey swishing back and forth* "Honestly, no..." *looks back at Jaxx, his smile slowly fading* "But, you've kept this a secret-from everyone, for a reason; hence the easing."

J- *nods begrudgingly* "Point made, loud and clear."

(Coulson finishes off the last swig of whiskey left in his glass, seconds later he grabbed the bottle and started refilling his glass, but only enough for a few swigs. Once he finished, he turned to Jaxx and gestured silently if he wanted a refill.)

C- *Jaxx nods, a second later Coulson started filling his glass* "First off...Simmons, does she-"

J- *he raises his hand, causing Coulson to stop pouring his glass* "No, she doesn't know...and I'd like to keep it that way, for now." _I made a promise to keep her safe, from anyone and anything that could hurt her-that includes me._ "Besides, she has enough on her plate already, with what she went through on the island, and her friend Fitz being comatose."

(The Director placed the bottle back on the table afterwards he switched hands, placing the glass in his right so he could rest it on the arm of the couch. Jaxx meanwhile took a small sip from his glass before doing the same with his left hand.)

C- "If I'm being completely honest, I don't exactly feel comfortable lying to my team, after all; keeping things hidden is what got us all into this mess in the first place. But, I also think that your right; Simmons has enough to deal with as is without finding out about her brother being an "Enhanced"."

J- "Yeah, about that..." *takes a swig of whiskey then rests it back on the couch* "I know you and I can tell that you have more questions flying about in that head of yours so...Let's get it over with."

C- _He certainly has way with words doesn't he?_ "When did these...abilities, start to manifest?"

J- *scoffs humorously* "Manifest? I'm not possessed Coul, or some sort of World of Warcraft warlock or something. Trust me that would make things a lot easier. But, to answer your question, I had known about them for some time, but they just didn't "manifest" until after I was taken in by Simmons and her family."

(Coulson thought back to his first interview with Jaxx, back in 07. It stuck with him because he hadn't expected the relatively young Marine to be so forthcoming about his past; telling him about how Simmons and her parents quote un-quote adopted the young homeless boy and brought him into the family fold. At one point, Jaxx had told him that he'd left home to pursue a career in the military, much to the objections of his sister.)

(From there his career was that of a slightly above average Marine, that is until he and his team were involved with a 084 incident, which is when he had gotten on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar. It didn't take Coulson long to put the pieces together and figure out that there might be a connection to him leaving around the same time his powers manifested.)

(When asked, Jaxx simply replied that it was only part of the reason, but the main reason was that he left was because he was afraid of hurting Simmons unintentionally. After this, he removed one of the bandages that he had taped to his chest and much to Coulson's surprise there was no wound. Jaxx explained that his ability to heal is at least 5 xs faster than normal, but that wasn't all...)

 **Meanwhile**

 **Level 2: Laboratory**

Shortly after everyone left, agent Jemma Simmons started growing tired of being restricted to the recovery room and instead, against the objections of the Koenig, decided that her time would be best suited working. Though not fully recovered she still managed to maintain a relatively normal posture; first on her agenda was to stop by the ICU where Triplett was being treated.

When she entered, agent Triplett was still under mild sedation and was sleeping off the pain medication. She went over the charts twice, once with the fellow doctor treating him and once on her own accord. The notes were thorough, noting his wrist had been broken in at least two places on the Radius and Ulna. Among other injuries were 5 broken ribs, a dislocated ring finger and several hairline fractures.

She hated seeing someone else she cared about laying in a hospital bed, but at the same time she was grateful that he was alive and had made it off the island with the rest of them. After staying with him for a few minutes she left and made her way to the lab, but stopped when she was right outside of Fitz's hospital room. Every fiber, every instinct was screaming at her, wanting her to check in on him even though she knew that nothing had changed.

7 days and still no change in his condition; the biochemist and doctor within her knew that there is likely to be no change in his current circumstances, but there was a part of her that hoped, prayed that he would come back to her. She stood there, staring at the door for what seemed like years, decades, until she decided to continue to the lab. She made herself promise to check in on him later.

Finally she made it to her lab, and was grateful that none of the other doctors that May and Trip had rescued earlier in the day had been traipsing through. No doubt the Director had yet to clear them for access to her for which she was extremely grateful. Though the lab itself was relatively large, much of the space had yet to filled, leaving some areas of the lab somewhat empty.

On one of the lab tables near the corner of the room she noticed various items lay out, covering the top of the table. Curious, she made her way over and found that it was various clothes and other items sealed in evidence bags. On the edge of the table was a box of disposable gloves and a sticky note; when she picked up the sticky note and read it, " _Had these waiting for you, in case you get bored. Coulson PS, the vial is in the fridge._ "

A not so subtle smile spreads across her face as she thought about how Coulson knew her well enough to know that she would refuse to stay bed-ridden for long; it was a small gesture, but one that she welcomed and was in need of. Her attention immediately turned from the table, to the cryo-fridge behind her. As she opened it, she found the canister, the same canister that she had put the vial that Skye took from the facility in. Quickly she went to work, ignoring the numbing pain throbbing in her head.

After taking the canister out of the cryo-fridge, she quickly grabbed a pair of disposable gloves from the box and began her testing. She had numerous tests that she wanted to perform, unfortunately this vial was the only one left of the re-created serum, so she had to use it sparingly and wisely. So, after much debate she decided to run 3 tests; using only the minimum amount needed for each one, she place the vial back into the canister and placed it back into the cryo-fridge.

She turned her attention back to the table and decided to process the clothes that they had worn to the island. Most of what she found was to be expected; dirt on the pants legs, sweat stains on the shirts and blood stains on the shirt. Yet, as she held her shirt in her hands she paused, looking curiously at the massive blood stain going down the side. There was something about it, something that she couldn't explain; all she knew is that there was something off about it.

She took a sample and ran it for genetic markers, and while she waited for that to finish she started going through another piece of evidence, the journal of Dr. Jennifer Goodman.

 **Simmons-Skye**

The biochemist sat at her station, scribbling notes on the notepad next to her while slowly reading through the pages of the journal. Every once and while she would stop and look up at the Mass-Spectrometer off to her left, which she had running one of the samples of the HH.327, but would quickly return to the journal.

Halfway through the journal and she stopped taking notes, in fact she stopped reading all together. Instead she lets out an exhausting sigh and gently placed her fingers on her lips.

Skye\- "Simmons..."

Simmons\- *gasps* "Bloody hell,"

Skye\- *chuckles a bit* "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

Simmons\- _Yeah well, you 'bout gave me a bloody heart attack_ , "It's *gulps deeply* it's fine Skye, really."

Skye\- *smiles* "I figured I'd find you here, even though you're supposed to be resting.

Simmons\- *smiles* "Yes well, I had some things that I needed to do; besides, there'll be plenty of time for rest later."

Skye\- _All work and no play...some things never change._ (She walks over to Simmons' station, looking at what she's up to.) *curious tone* "So, what'cha working on? And remember, I flunked science, so..."

Simmons\- "I am running tests on the serum that you *sarcastic tone* "procured" from the facility to see if I can ascertained any more information. But it'll take some time."

Skye\- *nods* "Anything in that journal that can help?"

Simmons\- "Ahh yes, the journal..." (She looks down at the journal and suddenly the image of those bodies they found in the pit appears in her mind.) *grimaces* "To be honest, most of it doesn't even seem plausible, mostly theoretical and yet..."

Skye\- "They managed to create those, monsters."

(Simmons silently nodded her agreement and for a few seconds an uneasy quietness crept in. Suddenly the computer on the table behind them started beeping, which quickly caught their attention.)

Skye\- *curious tone* "I thought you said that it would take a while for the tests to finish?"

(Simmons stood up and walked over to the computer; she tapped on a few keys.)

Simmons\- "For the serum yes, but this is something else entirely. I was going through the clothes that we wore to the island, analyzing various samples; soil, bodily fluid..."

Skye\- *sarcastic tone* "That sounds like a real hoot."

Simmons\- "Yes well, I found something irregular on the shirt I was wearing. There was a large blood stain going down the side of my shirt and there was something...I don't know, off about it so I decided to run some tests, one of which is just finished."

(Simmons tapped a few more keys on the keyboard and a window popped up on the screen. After reading the information on said screen, her brow started to furrow.)

Simmons\- *confused and shocked tone* That can't be right...that's impossible."

Skye\- "What is it?"

Simmons\- _I've never seen anything like this before,_ "According to this, the blood sample has 25 pairs of chromosomes, which is-as I stated earlier, impossible."

Skye\- _Yeah, I still don't know what the big deal is so..._ "Okay, you're going to have to dumb this down for me."

Simmons\- "The human genome or DNA is made up of 23 pairs of chromosomes. This, has 25, which is-"

Skye\- "Impossible yeah you said that. So what, it's like from an animal or something?"

Simmons\- *shakes her head* "No, no it's definitely human,"

Skye\- "Any idea whose blood it is?"

(Suddenly, the computer behind them started beeping, indicating that yet another one of her tests had finished. They walked over to it and once more, Simmons tapped a few keys and a window popped up, only this time it was a file.)

Skye\- "Subject...X?"

Simmons\- "Curious..."

(Simmons clicked on the file, which is when another window popped up; this one had the words **Unauthorized** in big red letters.)

Simmons\- "What the...?"

Skye\- "Here let me, this is my area of expertise."

(Skye did her thing, trying to bypass the security system. After only a few seconds another window popped up, this one more intimidating than the last. A loading bar appeared in the middle of the window, only instead of the word loading appearing above the bar, the word deleting took its place.)

(The bar started to fill rapidly, which made Skye hit the keystrokes all the more frantically.)

Skye\- "Crap, crap, crap...no, no, no!"

Simmons\- "What's going on Skye?"

Skye\- "The file must have some sort of failsafe built in. I don't think-"

(The bar was quickly filled and once full the words file successfully deleted.)

Skye\- "Damn it! It's gone."

(The two give each a look of shock and disbelief; they stood there for a moment just staring at the words wondering what the hell just happened.)

 **Director's Office**

 **Coulson-Jaxx**

(Coulson sat on the edge of his desk, one hand massaging his temples while the other gripped the edge tightly. Jaxx stood over by one of the windows, arms crossed in front of him, gazing out into the world waiting on the other side.)

C- _Geez, and I thought my life was complicated, but compared to- *mentally sighs*_ (He stops massaging his temples, placing his hand on the edge of the desk.)

J- _He's awfully quiet, yet his mind is probably a jumbled and such. Maybe I should've held back, kept some of the information to myself; he has enough on his plate without having to deal with my "problem"._ *drily* "You good?"

C- *sighs heavily* "Honestly, I've been better, but I do appreciate you telling me all this."

J- _Yeah well I didn't have a whole lotta choice in the matter now did I-ahh screw it, worse thing that he'll do is put me on that stupid list. Other than that, I've got nothing to worry about._ "Yeah well, didn't have a whole lot of options, besides...I trust you."

C- _And I really appreciate that, especially in times like this what with Hydra resurrected and running around doing out there doing God knows what._ "I'm glad to hear it. So...where do you go from here?"

(Jaxx turns away from the window and heads over to the couch, where he slowly takes a seat on the arm rest closest to Coulson.)

J- *inhales deeply* "Well, there's still plenty of people out there-agents who still need help fending off Hydra. It's not much, but at least it's somewhere to start."

C- *smirks slyly* "We could really use you here, your military background would come in handy and your abilities-"

J- "I can't. I don't fully trust these, "abilities" Coul. Until I find out more about what I can do, and how to control it."

C- "And we can help. We can help you figure out everything, not just how to control your abilities, but of course you already know that, which means that this is about something else. So, what is this really about?"

(Though only seconds passed, it was enough for awkward, tense silence to fill the room. Finally, Jaxx gave in and decided to tell him the real reason why he didn't want to stay and join Coulson's crusade.)

J- *sighs heavily* "You saw what I'm capable of, what I did to that..." _I can still see it, still feel what I did._

 _(He remembered standing there between Coulson and the creature, staring it down as every bone and muscle in his body screamed for him to attack. The creature snarled and leapt at him seconds later; the creature seemed to float in midair, time seemed to slow around Jaxx and still he stood there unafraid.)_

 _(As time returned to its natural speed, Jaxx throws a punch, connecting with the creatures' jaw. He could feel its jaw fracture against his knuckles, sending the creature flying backwards nearly 30 feet. It slammed violently against the ground, tumbling a few times before stopping.)_

 _(Despite the sheer force of the punch, the creature slowly stood up, and when it was on its feet it stared into Jaxx's eyes and smiled through blood soaked teeth. Once more it attacked, running directly at Jaxx; as the creature struck, Jaxx dodged it then connected an elbow directly on top of its head.)_

 _(Jaxx remembered the cracking sound as it echoed through his ears. His fighting style was fluid, but not elaborate; each strike, each blow connecting to specific points. The creature tried to slash him across the chest, only to find it slashing air as he stepped to the side. Afterwards, he gripped its wrist and twisted, seconds later he connected a strike to its left shoulder, dislocating it.)_

 _(It roared out in pain as it stumbled to its knees; it looked up and stared at Jaxx, its eyes like burning embers of hate and rage. Once more the creature attacked, showing little regard for its dislocated shoulder as its arm dangled at its side. Jaxx ducked, side-stepped and dodge every one of its flailing attacks. Then in one fluid like motion, he attacked all the vulnerable spots, starting first with his right knee followed by an elbow to the back of its head.)_

 _(The fight in and of its self didn't last long. By Coulson's account, it lasted maybe 8 minutes in total, ending with Jaxx the victor, standing over the corpse of the fallen covered in a mixture of its blood and his.)_

(Jaxx shuddered as he snapped back to reality. He looked up at Coulson, who simply sat there in silence, watching.)

J- *voice trembles* "I lost it when I saw Simmons..." (He tried to find the proper words needed to convey how he felt and why he didn't trust himself around S.H.I.E.L.D. especially those he trusts and cares about.) "...I can't risk losing control like that again-especially around her or anyone else for that matter."

C- _That look, a mixture of desperation, shame...what happened to him-losing control...it nearly broke him. It's the same look he had after._ *nods* "I understand. But if you change your mind, or need help; you know where to find me."

J- (He forced a half-hearted smile out.) "Like-wise." (He stood up and took a few steps towards Coulson.) *hesitant tone* "There is something else that we need to talk about."

C- _I know that tone. I really don't like that tone._ "Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this conversation?"

J- _He knows me so well._ "Because you're smart."

(Jaxx walks over to the desk and stood next to Coulson; seconds later he placed his right hand on the desk mat. He slides it to the right, revealing the strange symbols underneath, the ones Coulson had carved earlier that morning. Neither said a word as they stared at the carving; Jaxx saw only a confusing jumble of symbols and lines that he didn't recognize, but Coulson...)

(He started to feel the urge again, that unrelenting, unexplainable urge to find something, anything sharp and carve. The Director wasn't a push-over, he could fight it, make it bend to his will, but for how long? Now wasn't the time to figure it out, at least that's what he thought.)

C- "Oh yeah, that..." _I should've known that he'd find that. I'm sure that he had his suspicions about it. Despite his soldier front, he's actually very acute and smart at that._

J- "Yeah, that..." (He grips the desk on both sides, leaning inward slightly. His face was blank.)

C- *joking tone* "So, what gave me away?" _Just out of curiosity, so I know to fix it._

J- *neutral tone* "Well, between the whispers and concerned looks from your team...I was able to put two and two together. Also, you look like shit."

C- *sarcastic tone* "Gee, thanks. I hate to tell you this, but your pep talks-they need a little work."

J- *concerned tone* "I'm serious Phil..."

C- "Wow, first name...you are serious." _He never calls me Phil, like ever; this must be serious._

J- "I can see you struggling, fighting to keep it at bay, to keep the urge in check."

C- _How does he-_ "How-"

J- (Interjects) "Trust me, I know the look. I also know that you won't tell any of the others because you're afraid that they'll spend every waking hour trying to figure out how to fix this; instead of focusing on rebuilding and beating back Hydra."

C- _Wow, he's good...really good._ *jokingly* "Are you sure that you can't read minds? Just asking..."

J- (He smiles half-heartedly, trying his best to show Coulson that he doesn't have to go through this alone.) "Look, I get why you don't won't to place this burden on the others I do. But you don't have to carry it alone; you do have to talk to someone." (Coulson opened his mouth, about to say something, but almost as if he could actually read his mind, Jaxx spoke quickly.) "Besides me."

C- (He looked forward for a moment, staring blankly at the flat screen hanging from on the wall.) _He's right, but who's left to talk to besides my team? Who can I trust? Everyone else is either dead or work for Hydra; who knows where the hell Fury is..._ (He looks back at Jaxx.) "And, who exactly do can I talk to about my, unique situation?"

J- _Well, I have one, but I'm not sure that he'll go for, of course it's not like he has a whole lot of options._ *coy tone* "Have you heard from Andrew lately?"

C- (His brow furrows, his eyes narrow.) _Seriously? I haven't spoken to him in years, not since...Yeah, that won't be awkward._ "We haven't spoken since he and May got divorced; I doubt that he wants to hear from me."

J- "Just be your usual charming, sarcastic self and you'll be fine; besides you don't really have a choice."

C- *sighs heavily* "You know, I really hate it when your right.

J- "I know." *grins smugly*

C- *nods* "Fine, I'll give him a call, but I need you to do something for me."

J- *shoots him a look uncertainty* "Why do I have a feeling that I'm not going to like where this is going?"

C- "Don't worry; it's nothing painful, not yet at least." (He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a small communications device and holds it out in front of Jaxx.) "Keep in touch. I may need your help in the future; this way it's easier."

J- *sighs* "Alright, deal." (He takes the device, from Coulson and slides it into his pants pocket.)

(Now that both their secrets were out in the open, they decided to have one last drink, to celebrate this new milestone. Unfortunately, their celebration was interrupted, as the phone on Coulson's desk began to frantically ring. Reluctantly, he walked back over to the desk, pressing the button which put it on speaker.)

Simmons- _"Director Coulson"_

C- "Simmons? You're supposed to be in recovery, resting."

Simmons- *apologetic tone* _"Yes sir I know and we can talk about my disregarding your orders, but for now we have a situation down in the lab that needs your immediate attention."_

(Coulson and Jaxx share a confusing look, as now, Simmons had their full and undivided attention.)

C- *concerned tone* "What kind of situation?"

Skye- _"AC, its Skye. It'd be better if you came down here, where it's more...private."_

(Between Coulson and Jaxx, they had nearly a decade's worth of training, and all of their training is shouting at them that something was seriously off.)

C- "Skye, Simmons, what's going on?"

(There was a pause, one which seemed to last forever; finally a voice comes over the phone bringing an end to the silence.)

Skye- _"It's a file, one which I can't get access to."_

C- "What's the file?"

Simmons- _"From what could gather before it shut us out, it was about a test subject sir. Subject X?"_

(Once again, Coulson and Jaxx share a questioning look.)

J- *whispers* "Subject X? What the hell is that?"

C- *dryly* "No idea..."


	14. Tis the End for Now

**Author's Note:** **Hey ladies and gents, firstly I'd like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who has sent me comments and reviews about this story. Secondly this is the last chapter of this story, but don't cry because I will post a surprise chapter shortly after posting this. As for answering who exactly is Jaxx or whether there will be a Skye/Jaxx or "Skaxx" story in the future all I can say is stay tuned. Again thank you to everyone who follows the story and me as an author.**

 **Disclaimer:** **The negotiations with Marvel have fell through and I officially own no Marvel characters no NOTHING, except my own lack of intelligence and of course my OC's. Enjoy.**

Jaxx followed Coulson out of the office and the two headed on down to the lab, where Skye and Simmons waited impatiently. Their insistance to speak to him in person only fueled an already growng concern which grew in the back of his mind. Jaxx came along only because he was just as curious as Coulson was about this Subject X and the two wondered if there was any connection between this and what they had found on the island.

The discussion was halted when Coulson paused momentarily, catching Jaxx's attention. They stood just outside one of a few such rooms located throughout the base; what made this one unique was the distinctive sound of someone pummeling the hell out of a punching bag. Of course, both Coulson and Jaxx knew exacty who it was doing the pummeling, even before taking a step inside.

As they crossed the threshold, they stood there and watched for a few seconds as Agent Melinda May, Coulson's right hand, sent a flurry of kicks and punches to the bag dangling in front of her. Yet, almost immediatly after they entered the room May stopped and turned her attention to the two gawkers. Despite being exhausted, sore, and drenched in sweat May still managed to send them both a annoyed look, before responding with "Did you come here to spar or to stare and watch me sweat?"

Coulson couldn't help but grin a little at May's remark; afterwards he looked over at Jaxx who stared back for a few seconds it was like they were having a mental conversation. But Coulson quickly turned his attention back to May, saying simply "We need to talk..."

 **Level 2**

 **Laboratory**

 **A few minutes later**

 **Skye-Simmons**

(3 minutes had passed since Skye and Simmons spoke to Coulson on the phone, who seemed both confused and curious when he hung up. While they waited for him to arrive, the two decided to keep busy, with Simmons running more tests and extracting more of the blood sample from her shirt.)

Simmons- (The scissors cut through the fabric slowly,) _Damn it all, I really liked this shirt._ (She finished cutting off a large portion of the shirt which had the mysterious blood on it. After sitting the scissors off to the side, she took the sample over to her workstation and started extracting a sample.)

Simmons- (Once she has the blood sample, she places it between two slides and places it into the Electron Microscope.) *mumbles* "There we are. Now let's get a clearer picture of you now shall we.?"

(She looks through the lens of the scope, as her hand slowly turns the dials on both sides simultaneously, bringing the blood cells within the sample into focus. She watched vigilantly for a few seconds, before looking away and turning to the computer next to her. After typing a few keys a screen pops up, one which shows a real-time image of the sample in the microscope.)

Simmons- "Astonishing..."

Skye- (She walks through the door, her laptop in hand, sporting a grin.) "Sounds like someone has found something."

Simmons- "You have no idea, this sample is...well, extraordinary wouldn't even begin to describe it." (She turns her attention back to the monitor, tapping a few of the keys.)

Skye- (She walks over to the workstation and sets her laptop down on the counter next to Simmons. After opening it she quickly went to work,) _Okay, now where did that file run off to..._ (Her fingers quickly glide across the keys, causing lines of code to pop up on the screen.)

(5 minutes later and Simmons was already running yet another series of tests on the blood sample, while Skye only grew more and more frustrated at the lack of results.)

Skye- _C'mon, c'mon, give me something..._ (After tapping a few keys a screen pops up and on the screen was the words **NO RESULTS FOUND.** ) "Damnit!"

Simmons- (She turns around and walks over to Skye, carrying the a few freshly printed papers in her hand.) _Uh oh, that can't be a good sign._ *concerned tone* "What's the matter Skye?"

Skye- _What's the matter? Well let's start off with the fact that I've essentially wasted 5 minutes trying to trace where the file went, only to come up with jack-and-shit. How's that...Take a breath Skye, don't go blowing a gasket._ *Glances back and forth from the screen on her laptop to Simmons* "The file it's gone,"

Simmons- "Yes I know, we both saw it being deleted in front of our very eyes."

Skye- "Yes but-when a file is deleted it's not completely gone; there's always some trace of it left behind, a-a line of code or a scrap of the file itself but there is nothing, like at all. It's like it just disappeared."

Simmons- *confused tone* "Is that even possible?"

Skye- *sarcastic tone* "Given what we've seen today, I wouldn't doubt it."

(Just then the door to the lab opened, catching both Simmons and Skye's attention as they looked up and saw three people walking in. Coulson, May, and Jaxx walked over to where Skye and Simmons were.)

 **Coulson-May-Jaxx-Skye-Simmons**

Coulson- "Sorry we're late, had to make a pit stop." *Turns to look at Jaxx and Agent May then turns back to Skye and Simmons* "May knows what happened on the island, including what we found and what found us."

May- _Yeah, and we're going to have a nice long talk about all of that, but for now we have other matters to attend to._ "So, what's with all the secrecy and hush-hush?"

Coulson- *Turns to May* "Yeah, I'm also curious about that." *Turns to Skye and Simmons* "What was so sensitive that you couldn't talk about it over the phone? Is it about this Subject X?"

May- _Subject X..._ *looks over at Coulson, somewhat shocked expression plastered on her face* _It couldn't be-it has to be a coincedence._ "Who's Subject X?"

Skye- "That's what I've been trying to find out, but the file is completely gone and there's no trace of it, like at all. It's like it never existed."

Jaxx- *dryly* "So someone definitely didn't want anyone finding out who or what this 'Subject X' is." _Damn you Coulson, we just finished with one case and now we're looking into another; ugh, this is why I hate S.H.I.E.L.D._

Simmons- "The what was actually easy to determine." (She walks over to the computer monitor that she was using earlier and pulled up an image showing various chromosomes.) "I can definitively say that Subject X is definitely male, human and a very extraordinary one at that."

May- "And how is that?"

Simmons- *excited tone* "Well for starters, he has 25 pairs of chromosomes."

(The room fell silent, with Coulson and May shooting each other looks; niether was really sure what that really meant, and niether did Skye, but Jaxx on the other hand...)

Jaxx- _25, no that can't be right. But it's not like Simmons to make a mistake like that, not her_. "Are you sure...25 not 23?"

Simmons- _I'm insulted that he would even ask that. I mean really, out of all of us which one has 3 doctrines one of which-get a hold of yourself, no need to get worked up into a tissy._ "Yes I'm sure. I've ran the test 3 seperate times, there's no mistake."

(Coulson and May seemed more confused than ever, mainly at the fact that Jaxx seemingly knew the signifigance of this finding. They're gaze settled on Skye, who began feeling a bit uncomfortable.)

Skye- "Don't look at me...high school drop-out remember?"

Jaxx- "Every man, woman and child has 23 pairs of chromosomes, meaning in total that they should have 46, but this 'Guy' has 50, it's impossible." (Everyone's questioning gaze fell upon him, including Simmons who seemed the most shocked out of all of them.) "What? Discovery Channel. *mumbles* I was bored."

(Everyone decided to ignore the fact that Jaxx somehow knew this and moved on.)

Coulson- "So this guy, how did he get these extra chromosomes?

May- "Genetic Mutation maybe, or some sort of experiment..."

Simmons- "I can't say for certain but I can tell you this much. Because of these extra chromosomes, this "Subject X" has the ability to heal himself almost rapidly."

(Everyone looked at her, stunned and amazed at the same time, all except Jaxx; the latter of which could feel his heart skip a beat and a knot in the pit of his stomach.)

Jaxx- _Wait a healing-how can-am I...Subject X?_

Skye- *questioning tone* "So wait, are you saying that this guy is an "Enhanced"?"

Simmons- *shakes her head* "No, not at 'tall. Every enhanced individual that we've studied had some sort of genetic anomaly. Subject X shows no signs of any such anomaly's. He is something new, something that we haven't seen before."

Jaxx- _How can this-this can't be happe- Damnit, keep it together, don't break your cover, not now._ "Where did this sample come from?

Simmons- (She walked over and grabbed a piece of shirt fabric that she had cut off for her sample. She showed it to the rest of the group.) "From this...Now, at first I thought that it could have been blood from one of the creatures that somehow found it's way onto my shirt, but..."

(She sets the piece of fabric down and goes to retrieve some papers from her desk. Afterwards she handed the papers to Coulson who glanced over them.)

Coulson- "They're not a match."

Simmons- "Exactly sir. I believe that there was someone else there, on the island with us and that somehow his blood ended up on my shirt."

Coulson- *Glances over at Jaxx briefly* _I told him that she was smart, that she would figure all this out._

May- _Just like the stories, from way back. But those were just stories, they can't be true...can they?_ "How fast can he heal exactly? _Can't tell anyone, not yet, especially not Coulson; not until I have confirmation._

Simmons- "See for yourself." (She walks over to the keyboard and taps a few key-strokes and another image pops up. It's the same real-time image that was on the screen before, showing the white bloodcells moving rapidly.)

Skye- "Damn, they're really moving aren't they? Why are they moving like that?"

Simmons- "Well, it seems that the Subject's white bloodcells are in a constant state of Hyper-Mitosis. Essentially they're working at ultra high speeds."

Skye- "So what, this guy can heal as fast as Captain America or something."

Simmons- "Faster; at least by a factor of x5."

(Once more everyone looked stunned and shocked, everyone except Coulson and Jaxx, both of whom only pretended to be so.)

Coulson- "So this guy can just heal from any wound, instantly?"

Simmons- "That would depend on the severity of the wound sir, see..." (She walks over to the holo-table and presses the power button. Once it was lit up, she motioned her hands over the top, causing a 3d rendering of the human body.) "Regeneration is essentially a trade-off between speed and accuracy."

(Her hand motions to the left causing a new image of the human body to appear, this one had a missing arm and several wounds over the course of it's body.)

Simmons- "Perfect repairs, such as regenerating a limb for example, takes time to replicate perfectly." (She presses a few keys on the console in front of her and the image starts to show the missing limb growing back.) "This can been seen in the animal kingdom, usually in the form of salamanders, but never in mammals, such as humans."

Skye- "So what, we're looking for some giant Lizard-man, cause that is not happening."

(Coulson smiled a bit, while May hid hers. Jaxx on the other hand was less than amused as his mind quickly filled with thoughts, questions that he couldn't ask, not without compromising himself. Instead he stood there, pretending that all this did not faze him.)

Simmons- "No-no that would be ridiculus, besides that would require both genetic manipulation and causing a triggered mutation simultanously."

Skye- *grins and nods slowly* "Riight; I was actually joking about the whole Lizard-man thing Jemma."

May- "So this Subject X, is there anyway to help us identify him?"

Simmons- "I suspect that, a good portion of his body is covered in scar tissue."

(Jaxx's muscles tensed up, his blood felt like ice water and his heart felt like it was about to stop any minute. He swallowed hard and shot a quick glance at Coulson, who shot him a calming one. May was clueless to the secret, as was Simmons; Skye glanced over at Jaxx who was still glancing over at Coulson. Her eyes settled on his shirt, and that's when it truly hit her.

Skye- _Scar tissue..._ (Her eyes widened briefly and her lips twitched.) _His scars...could it-could he be Subject X?_

Jaxx- "What does scar tissue have to do with it? If he does have the ability to heal himself then why would he have scar tissue in the first place?"

Simmons- "Think of our skin and muscle tissue as a sort of, fabric-like material; the scars are like the stitching, holding one piece of fabric to the other."

Coulson- _That makes sense_ *Looks over at Jaxx* _I've seen his file; nearly 57% of his body is covered in scars. Some of the wounds, I always wondered how he managed to survive them, and now I know._

Skye- (Glances over at Jaxx, who looked back at her.) _I can't believe that he is this Subject X, of course, it does explain all those over-the-top stories about "The Sword" that Trip told me. I wonder if there isn't some hint of truth in them._

(He could feel her searching his eyes and when he looked into hers, it was clear that she figured it out. It would only be a matter of time before Simmons came to the same conclusion.)

Jaxx- _She'll figure it out, she always does, but that doesn't mean that I can't throw her off my trail, even if it's only for a little while longer._ "Was there any mention of this Subject in the files that we got from the island or from Shaw?"

Skye- (Everyone's eyes are on Skye now, causing her to be taken back, if only for a moment.) *clears throat* "The thumb drive we got off of Shaw is still downloading, and I've already started a search program on the digital files that we got from the island, but some of the files are either incomplete or corrupted."

May- "Is there anyway that you could restore them? It could give us a lead on the identity of this Subject X."

Skye- *shakes her head* "Sorry, it's impossible; there are entire lines of code that are missing, but if there's any mention of Subject X in any of the uncorrupted files," *shoot Jaxx a quick glare* "I'll find it."

Coulson- "Well, for now; let's keep it among ourselves."

Jaxx- "What about Trip or Koenig?" _I just found out that I just might be this Subject X guy; I can't deal with anymore surprises, besides Skye seems like she figured it out, which means that I have to deal with that. Ugh, today has got to be the worst._

Coulson- "I'll inform them; til then, this remains in house, understood?"

(Everyone nodded in silent agreement.)

Simmons- "There's something else sir...Two of the chromosomes appear...off."

Coulson- *"Define off."

Simmons- (She presses a few keys and another image appears over the holotable, an image of the 49th and the 50th chromosome.) "I'm not completly sure sir; the blood cells have already started degrading, which makes it impossible to run a thorough test, but there's just something not right about them. Regardless we should try and find this Subject X sir."

May- "Why the sudden interest in this guy?"

Simmons- "Besides the fact that his blood could hold the key to cure countless diseases, he could very well be a powerful ally against Hydra."

Jaxx- _Great, now my sister wants to turn me into some sort of lab rat. Sorry Jems, no one's poking me with any needles or any other kind of, evasive probing. Not going to happen._

Coulson- "I'll be sure to ask him, if and when we find him. Until then, Skye keep searching for any files even remotely mentioning this Subject X; that includes the ones that Romanoff leaked to the public."

Skye- "That's alot of files AC, it'll take some time."

Coulson- "Well, Fury said that we need to take our time and rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D., the right way; and that's exactly what we're going to do, so take your time, find out what you can. Until then, Simmons, the serum-"

Simmons- *meek tone* "About that sir, I destroyed it *gulps heavily* sir."

(The looks that she recieved from everyone in the room were a mixture of confusion and stunned.)

Coulson- "I didn't order the serum to be destroyed, so...I think some context is in order."

Simmons- "I think all of us, even Trip, knows the real reason why I volunteered to go the island and it had less to do with rescuing Dr. Streiten and more to do...with saving Fitz."

(The tone of the room suddenly changed, it was more gloomy and despairing than before.)

Coulson- "You wanted to see if they managed to recreated the original serum, and if they did-"

May- "You were going to use it...to save Fitz."

Simmons- *nodded* "But, after seeing what they created-what the serum had done to those people...As much as it pains me to say this," (It took everything to fight back the tears.) "I'd rather Fitz not wake up at 'tall than risk him turning into one of those things."

(The room fell silent, and the next few seconds seemed to last an eternity. Skye placed her hand over Simmons, a silent show of support for her decision. Jaxx nodded sympathetically, as did May; Coulson walked around the holo-table and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.)

Coulson- "I know it hurts, but it was the right decision." "We'll find another way to help Fitz, I promise."*Glances up at Jaxx*

Coulson's words not only reassured the team, but also provided a much needed ray of hope, which helped bring a sense of relief to the group that they had not felt in days. Moments later May left the lab, stating that Coulson had interrupted her before she had a chance to finish or even take a shower. Jaxx was about to say something that would have earned a death glare from May at best; lucky for him, Coulson stopped him, although he had to admit that it would have been quite entertaining to see what would happen. Instead she shot Coulson a grin, while Jaxx got a stern look, one which caused him to look somewhat nervous.

A grin formed on Coulson's face while Simmons and Skye share a chuckle, all at Jaxx's exspense. Shortly after, Simmons grabbed her notepad and continued her anyalse on the remainder of the blood sample. Most of the sample had started to degrade, but there was still enough for at least one more test; this test should confirm her theories that if properly handled, this ability could be temporarily transferred to another. If this turned out to be true then maybe there was hope to save Fitz, without turning him into a monster.

It took Skye a few seconds to re-program her search algorithm to go through not only the digital files within the S.H.I.E.L.D. archives in the Playground, but also the thumbdrives that they had gotten from Agent Shaw and the facility on the Island. With Coulson's permission, she also reached out to some of her Rising Tide contacts; every so often she would look up from the screen, her eyes fixating on Jaxx who was off with Coulson, whispering and mumbling to one another.

She knew that Jaxx was Subject X, or at least she suspected as much; all she had was her suspicions, but it was enough for her, it was always enough. Once the program was running on it's own, she closed her laptop and with it in hand she walked over to the two; who immediately stopped talking as she approached. She asked if the 3 of them could speak in private; when Coulson asked what it was about, she simply said that it would be more convinent for everyone if they were somewhere private.

Coulson seemed both intrigued and suspicious at her reluctance to speak, but when she gave a quick nods over towards Simmons, who was busy going over some tests results; it was clear that she wasn't willing to say anything else in front of Simmons. Coulson informed Simmons that both Jaxx and Skye would be with him in his office if she needed anything. She didn't even look up from the electron microscope, only responded with a simple yes sir.

With that, the three were off to his office; once they arrived, Jaxx and Skye entered first, with Coulson following behind, closing the door behind him. Now that they were somewhere more private, Coulson asked that obvious question, which was; what did she want to say, that she wouldn't say in front Simmons. Skye looked at Jaxx, and said in a questioning tone if her suspicions were right; if he was this Subject X that they've been talking about.

From this point on, Jaxx and Coulson decided to tell her, everything; no more lies, only truths...

 **20 minutes later**

 **Coulson-Skye-Jaxx**

Jaxx sat on the arm of the chair furthest from the door, his arms folded in front of him watching Skye sitting on the couch opposite of him. She's resting her head against the back, at the same time she stared at the ceiling, trying to absorb every bit of information that Coulson and Jaxx just tried to cram into her head. Coulson meanwhile was sitting on the edge of his desk, watching the young agent.

 **Jaxx-** _We should have eased her into all of this, I mean this is alot to process; hell, I can barely process half of it, even the parts that I do understand..._

 **Coulson-** (He turns around, grabbing the bottle of whiskey from before and pours what's left of the contents into another glass.) _Damn, I was hoping to save the rest for later but..._ (As the last drop of whiskey falls into the glass, he looks over his shoulder to see that Skye is still staring at the ceiling.) _she looks like she needs this more._

He places the cap back on the bottle, screwing on tightly; after setting it down he noticed that some of the carvings were peeking out from under the corner of the place mat. In one swift motion he takes the glass in one hand while sliding the mat over with the other.

 **Coulson-** _She has enough on her plate, without having to worry about this. This can wait..._

With the glass in hand, he walks over to Skye and places the glass on the table in front of her. She finally lifted her head off the back of the couch and stared at the glass for a quick second before taking it in hand.

 **Coulson-** "This should help with-"

Before he could finish Skye chugs down the whiskey in less than a second, much to Coulson's amazement.

 **Coulson-** "Well, there goes the last of it." *shoots an dissapointed look at Jaxx*

 **Skye-** _I knew it, I knew there was something about him I just knew it._ (Looks over at Jaxx.) *snarky tone* "I knew that there was something," *points at Jaxx momentarily before setting the empty glass down on the table* "Something off about you."

 **Jaxx-** *jokingly* "Yeah well, you're not the first one to say that."

Skye quickly stands up from the couch, placing her hands on her hips.

 **Skye-** *determined tone* "I wanna see it."

Both Coulson and Jaxx shoot her an amused look, trying their hardest to not laugh, as grins started to form on their faces. It didn't take long for Skye to realize exactly how it sounded.

 **Skye-** _That's not what I meant, like at all,_ *stammers* "I didn't mean it like that, I meant that I want to see you're thing," _OH GOD SKYE, WHAT ARE YOU_ "NOT you're thing as in," *her hand motions at Jaxx's crouch* "I meant your-you know what I mean!"

Coulson and Jaxx could hear the slight hint of irritation in her tone, yet they still found the whole thing amusing; seconds later Coulson cleared his throat, which was his way of trying to rectify the situation.

 **Jaxx-** "Sorry yeah-yeah I think I do." *he says slowly once the grin starts to fade* _Wow-that was entertaining._

He looks over at Coulson without saying a word, his way of asking if he should show her his "gift", as Coulson would most likely call it.

 **Coulson-** *lets out a heavy sigh* "I'm actually curious to see it myself so, by all means."

Jaxx nods before standing up from the arm of the couch and walking over to Skye. He was just a few inches from her and stared into her brown eye for a moment. His ears throbbed to the beat of Skye's heart, which started beating faster and faster; a smile crosses his face as he holds out his hand.

 **Jaxx-** *his words were slow, precise* "Can I borrow your knife, please?"

She was so enthralled by his hazel eyes that she could barely hear what he said; her mind once more started to wander, bringing her back to the daydream she had before back in the locker room.

 **Coulson-** _Wow, I've never seen her like this. He did say he has a way with women, but I don't think Hill and Romanoff would agree._ *clears throat* "Skye..."

 **Skye-** (Snaps out of her thoughts, shaking her head in the process as she looked away from Jaxx's eyes.) "What-umm yeah," *clears throat* "Yeah here."

She reaches into her back pocket and pulls out a closed flip knife, gently placing it in his open palm. He closes his palm, and leans in closer for effect.

 **Jaxx-** *whispers* "Appreciate it."

He gives her a quick wink before taking two steps back, giving both Skye and Coulson a clear view of what's about to come next. Using his thumb, he quickly flips open the knife and shows it off to Coulson then Skye. He then takes it in his left hand and opens his right hand, leaving his palm facing up; the tip of the knife is just barely touching the skin, which is when Jaxx noticed that both Skye and Coulson started to tense up.

 **Skye-** _Ugh, I'm starting to think-_

Before she could finish her thought, using a portion of his strength, he plunged the knife into his hand; a mixture of shock and confusion flashed over both Skye and Coulson's faces.

 **Coulson-** _What the hell!? I thought he was going to make a little cut, not-_

 **Skye-** _Jesus, what the hell!? That is not okay!_

Jaxx's jaw clenched, and through gritted teeth he groaned as he slowly pulled the knife out of his hand. He made sure to do it slowly as to not fling his blood all around, giving great care to not bloody up Coulson's office. Red liquid drenched the blade all the way to the hilt of the knife, yet all eyes were on Jaxx's palm.

 **Skye-Coulson-** *simultaneously in a shocked tone* "Holy crap..."

They're eyes widened as they watched the gaping wound going through his hand quickly start to close. All that was left behind once the wound fully closed was the thick crimson liquid still soaking his palm. Afterwards they shot each other a look before looking at Jaxx, who gave them a grin before walking over to Coulson's desk.

 **Jaxx-** *neutral tone* "Where do you keep the towels?"

 **Coulson-** "Left side, second drawer."

Jaxx nods and opens the drawer with his left hand, grabbing one of the grey towels placed within. He wiped away the blood from the knife blade then placed the towel in his right hand, before walking back over to Skye and Coulson. Throwing the towel over her shoulder, he closed the pocket knife and handed it back to Skye.

 **Jaxx-** "Thanks."

 **Skye-** *amazed tone* "No problem." (After glancing down at the knife, she hid it away in her back pocket.) _I can't believe what I just saw. I've never seen anything like that before._

 **Coulson-** (He takes Jaxx's right hand, looking closely at the palm and back.) _Damn, I would have loved to have this when Loki shanked me bck in New York; would have been better that what Fury put me through._ *jokingly* "Bet that comes in handy."

 **Jaxx-** *briefly smiles* "You could say that."

Skye took Jaxx's hand from Coulson, her fingers slowly runnging through his palm.

 **Jaxx-** _That feels...nice. No, no, don't go there; besides she's way out of your league. Then again, Coulson said the same thing about Romanoff, and Sharon Carter._

 **Skye-** _This is amazing, not even a scar. I can see why Simmons wants to find him so badly...Wait a second._ "Jaxx," (She looks up at Jaxx and he looks at her.) "What would happen if, we took some of your blood and injected into Fitz?"

Coulson looked over at her, thinking that she had just read his mind and snatched the thought from his head. It was a plan that he was planning on discussing with Jaxx in private, but put it on hold when Skye wanted to talk to them in private. Still, even seeing what his blood could do, Coulson seemed hesitant. Jaxx on the other hand was unsure of the whole idea and when Skye asked him why, he had no answer, just a feeling.

After discussing the concept for a few minutes, it was essentially Jaxx's decision, which didn't make the soldier feel any easier about it. No one could definitively know what the side effects of blood transfusion like that would be, for Jaxx or Fitz. Skye was more optimistic than either Coulson or Jaxx, stating that the side-effects would be better than watching him wasting away in a coma.

Coulson argued that until they had more information on what exactly Jaxx was subjected to as part of Subject X program. Jaxx stood there, listening to the two go back and forth, until he finally heard all that he needed to. He words were simple, saying that they needed to keep the doctors and everyone else clear of Fitz's room and that he would take it from there.

A slightly worried look flushed over Skye's face when she noticed how cold and distant the tone of his voice sounded. Coulson noticed it too, but it was the look on Jaxx's face that had him most concerned.

 **Medical**

 **Room 3-Fitz, Leopold**

 **Jaxx**

He turned the corner, passing by a few doctors and Koenig, who congradulated him on a successful mission, desipte the loss of Dr. Streiten and the condition that they all arrived in. Jaxx tried to maintain his composure while Koenig went on and on; after a while he just tuned him out, his eyes occasionally looking down the hall at Room 3. Koenig told him that Mac was nearly finished fixing up the Iron Wing and that if he was interested, they could play a few games of Call of Duty before he went off into the sunset.

 **Jaxx-** "I'll think about it." *gives a false smile*

 **Koenig-** *excited tone* "Awesome, can't wait."

With that, Koenig leaves. Jaxx stands there for a moment, still wearing that fake smile, but as soon Koenig turns the corner, his smile quickly disappears and his face goes tant.

 _Bout damn time, now it's time to finish this, before there are any more interruptions._

He walks down the hall until he gets to Room 3, which is where he stops, standing in front of the door. Inhaling deeply, he holds it for a few seconds before releasing it; his eyes narrowed as if he were trying to see through the door. His hand quickly reaches up, grabbing the handle; his grip tighten and for a moment it felt like he could break it right off the door.

Slowly the handle turns and with a push the door opens and he's in the hospital room, but he's not alone.

 **Jaxx-** *surprised tone* "Simmons,"

Even before she turned around he knew it was her, she always had a destinctive scent about her. When she did turn around, she looked surprised.

 **Simmons-** "Jaxx, what-what are you doing here?"

 _She's surprised to see me here; that makes two of us. Then again, given what Coulson has told me about "FitzSimmons" and the way that Jemma gushes over him, I shouldn't really be surprised. Still, she can't be here; not for what I have to do._

 **Jaxx-** "I figured that I'd stop by and see the guy that you've been ranting on about."

 **Simmons-** *scoffs* "Please, I don't rant. Besides, he's the one that usually does the ranting." *she looks back at Fitz*

Jaxx walks over beside her and looks down at the motionless man in the bed before him. His eyes drifted towards the machine, beeping rythmatically off to the otherside of the bed. They followed the tubes leading from the machines to where they were eventually shoved down the comatose man's throat.

 _Poor bastard...you don't deserve this, none of you do. this only happened because their was a wolf in the herd._

Simmons noticed that he was staring at Fitz, his eyes had a hint of sadness in them; her hand interlocks with his, before she looks back to the expressionless face. He glances over at her, taking into account how exhausted she looked.

 _From the bags under her eyes, she hasn't gotten more than 2 or maybe 4 hours of sleep a day. It might work for a soldier, but not a biochemist and it all has to do with him. He makes her weak, makes her vulnerable; she can't afford to be vulnerable, not now, not when she has waded into a war with Hydra. I need to get her out of the room; I can't do what needs doing until she's out here._

 **Simmons-** "I appreciate you stopping by, to see him." *looks over at Jaxx* "I think you would've liked him."

 **Jaxx-** "Yeah. I'm sure I would have. Uh Coulson wanted me to send you his way, said that he wanted to discuss something with you."

 **Simmons-** *sighes exhaustedly* "Well alright then."

 **Jaxx-** "You mind if I hang here for a while."

Simmons shoots him a smile and leans up, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

 **Simmons-** "Not at 'tall."

She walks over to the door, grabbing the handle and pulling it open.

 **Jaxx-** "Simmons,"

This caused her to stop in her tracks, turning to look him in the eyes.

 **Jaxx-** *smiles* "Everything will workout...I promise."

A big smile engulfs her face as new sense of relief and comfort rushed through her; she knew that Jaxx consider a promise to be a sacred oath, one that he refused to break for any reason, and from what she could recall, he never broke a promise, ever. She said nothing in response, all she did was nod and with that she closed the door behind her, leaving Jaxx alone with the less-than helpless Fitz.

Jaxx turns back to Fitz, scowling at the tubes shoved down the bed-ridden Fitz's throat. He leans in close, his face just a few inches away from Fitz's.

 **Jaxx-** *whispering* "I'm sorry...not just for what happened to you, but for what I have to do. I hope you understand, I have no ill-will against you. You saved Jemma-you gave her a chance to live; for that, there is no way I can thank you."

He stands up, slowly walking around to the otherside of the bed.

 **Jaxx-** "But you have to understand...With Hydra out there, waiting, hunting...No one is safe, especially Jemma. This is a war, a war that S.H.I.E.L.D. could ill afford to lose. And if there is a way-if there is a weakness that Hydra could exploit, they will. Which means, that they'll make Simmons do whatever they need her to because you...are her weakness."

Once on the otherside, he looked over the machine that was keeping the engineer alive, breathing. Resting one hand on top of the machine, he looks back at Fitz.

 **Jaxx-** "She loves you, even if she can't admit, even if she doesn't want to; I can tell. And it's because she loves you, that she's in danger. Because you are not able to defend yourself, because of the state your in, you put her at risk."

He placed his hand on the top of his head, gently brushing his curly hair.

 **Jaxx-** *sad tone* "As I said, it's nothing personal. I just can't risk losing her, I won't."

 **Director Coulson's Office**

 **7 minutes later**

 **Coulson**

 **Skye-** "So, what you're saying is that it's possible? That it could actually work?"

 **Simmons-** *nods* "It 'tis possible but again, we would have to take into account the variables of such an endeaver. It would require exstensive testing before we should even attempt human trials." *looks over at Coulson* "If you are indeed considering this as an option sir."

 **Coulson-** "I am, and I agree with your assessment. We should tread carefully, because there's no telling what side-effects could come from using such a treatment."

 **Simmons-** "Exactly. For that matter we still don't even know the side-effects of the GH serum running that you two were injected with."

 **Skye-** *sarcastically* "Thanks, that's not at all reassuring."

 **Simmons-** *looks over* "All I'm saying is better safe than sorry. We still don't know if the regenrative factor would even transfer to another subject; it could in all likelyhood exist solely for the prime Subject's benefit."

Coulson and Skye share a look, one which silently shares the concern of the other. Just then, a knock on the door draws everyone's attention.

 **Coulson-** "Enter."

The door slowly opens and in walks Jaxx, looking a bit frazzled, closing the door behind him.

 **Jaxx-** "Hope I'm not interrupting."

 _Whatever he did, it was quick; he couldn't have been gone for more than 5 minutes. I'm also curious as to why he looks so dis-shuffled._

 **Coulson-** "Not at all; we're just finishing up. How's Fitz?"

 **Jaxx-** (Takes a few steps before answering.) "No change." (Simmons looks at him and he at her.) "But as I said, everything will work out."

She nodded and once more a smile came over her face; he gently placed his hand on her shoulder which caused her to close her eyes momentarily. At the same time Coulson noticed Jaxx's face twinge for a moment.

 **Simmons-** (She opens her eyes and looks at Coulson.) "If it's okay with you sir, I'd like to get back. Just on the off chance that he might wake up."

 **Coulson-** *nods* "It's fine with me. Let me know if his condition changes."

She gives a simple nod, and gives Jaxx a hug; his face starts to twist, as if the meek little biochemist was crushing him with super strength. This time Skye noticed it as well, but as soon as Simmons lets go he hides it well behind a smile. She opens the door and leaves, closing the door behind her; not a second later, Jaxx slowly lowers himself onto the couch, grunting out in pain.

Skye and Coulson walked over to examine Jaxx, who had just rested his head against the back of the couch.

 **Skye-** "You look like shit."

 **Jaxx-** *jokingly* "You sure know how to sweet talk a man don't you."

 **Coulson-** *stern tone* "What happened? What did you do?"

For a long, silent painful minute, Jaxx said nothing; he just stared up at the ceiling, while his left hand shakes. Coulson and Skye give each other a concerned look, before looking back at Jaxx, just in time for him to respond.

 **Jaxx-** *distant, burdened tone* "I did...what I had to do."

When Coulson asked him to eleborate, Jaxx just sat there, resting his head against the back of the couch staring up at the ceiling. He stayed in that position, niether saying a word nor moving a muscle, just staring. Skye seemed unsettled by the fact that Jaxx hadn't moved or said a word in 30 minutes; to her he seemed distant, like he was trying to push everyone away and she didn't know why. Coulson on the other hand found Jaxx's behavior a little off putting, mainly because he had never seen him like this before, which is why he was worried, not just for Jaxx himself, but for Fitz as well.

It was soon after that Coulson asked Skye to go down to medical and check in on Fitz. At first she seemed dumbfounded by his intial request, but she eventually chalked it to being overly cautious and assumed that it had to do with the reason Jaxx went down there in ther first place. After she left, Coulson sat down across from Jaxx and for the first time in nearly 45 minutes Jaxx moved; lifting his head off the back of the couch and staring the DIrector in the eyes.

Coulson and Jaxx would have quite the discussion on what happened down there, and what exactly happened with Fitz. It would be quite the revelation, even for Coulson and one he promised Jaxx that he wouldn't share with anyone at all because it wasn't his secret to tell. The next few hours flowed rather smoothly, with Skye visiting Simmons in the Fitz's hospital room, checking and making sure everything was okay.

May had finished her workout and after a quick hot shower, she went to Director Coulson's office and hashed out a few things; which mainly consisted of her calling him out on some of the mistakes he made today, and how his being distant was affecting the team dynamic. He assured her that he would handle it and that if it became too much for him to bear, that she would be the first one that he'd come to. That earned him a rare smile from the veteran agent.

Mac finished repairing the Iron Wing, during which he contacted in secret someone named Gonzalez, who seemed very interested in this Jaxx that Mac told him about. After which he hid a tracking device on the Iron Wing, somewhere he thought that Jaxx would never find it, in the hopes that Gonzalez and his SHIELD could bring him over to their side. Simmons went back to the lab just as the test results finished, unfortunately most of the samples had degraded before the tests could finish leaving her with nothing else to work with.

After sharing a beer with the team and playing a couple games of Call of Duty against both Koenig and Mac (and winning by a landslide) Jaxx gathered up his things and said his goodbyes. He shook hands with Koenig who, despite his obsession with Lady Gaga and Call of Duty, seemed like a pretty cool dude. He also shook hands with Mac, during which he got a "feeling" that there was something off about this guy, but he played along for now.

When it came to May he stated jokingly that he would hug her but that she would probably lay his ass out on the ground, to which she replied that there was no probably. Regardless she gave him a hug and told him to keep his head on a swivel, which he took to heart. Next was Coulson, where they shook hands then gave each other a hug; that is when he whispered in the Director's ear to keep an eye on Mac, that there was something off about him.

Coulson maintained his usual demeanor, even after he and Jaxx stopped hugging; Jaxx's warning just confirmed his own suspicions and for that he was both grateful and irrate. A smile brushed over his face when he came face to face with Skye, who also sported a smile while holding out her hand. His hand engulfed hers, during which he jokingly said that he was going to give her a hug, but said that seeing him shirtless would have to do. This of course earned both of them some curious glances, one in particular from Simmons herself.

He leaned in close and whispered some advise concerning May's training and how to survive it; it was really simply and hard to forget...don't piss her off. With that the two share a laugh before going in for a hug. And last, but certainly not least, was Simmons who seemed to be the most emotional of them all. Her eyes started to well up and in response Jaxx gave her hug and held her; she stated that she hated to see him go, and for that he responded that he had to go, that there were still people who needed his help.

The embraced for a few more minutes before Jaxx placed a kiss on her cheek and begged her to be safe. Once he let her go, she gently grabbed the sides of his face and brought his forehead down to her lips, kissing it. She nodded and made him promise to keep in touch, for which he had no argument for. Minutes later the Iron Wing was taking off, hovering out of the hanger and once clear the engines lit up and in less than a second it was gone. A giant grin was plastered on Coulson's face and when May asked him why he had that grin, his response was simple and snarky; "Nothing it's just...he certainly knows how to leave in style."

 **The Director's Office**

 **8:45 p.m.**

 **Coulson**

The room was filled with silence, that is until the sound of the door handle slowly turned pinged off the walls. The Director walked through the door, with his suit jacket in hand, looking tired and sore. After closing the door, he walked over to the couch closest to the door, tossing the jacket onto the opposite one. He sat on the arm of the couch for a second, placing his face in his hands and rubbing his face gently.

He lets out a long winded, exhausting sigh, after which he leaned back flopping down onto the cushions of the couch. His eyelids felt heavy and with each blink lasting longer than the last, he would soon be asleep. It wasn't long before drifted off, his mind going over the day's events, still trying to wrap his head around it all. Suddenly, the symbols started to appearing in his mind and with it came the urge.

His eyes shot open, staring at the ceiling for a moment before he sat up on the couch. He could fight it, push it back, but for how long? Soon his gaze drifted over towards the desk, resting on the place mat; he stood up and walked over to the desk, and stared at the mat. Something seemed to be pulsating from underneath it so; he slowly slid the mat over to the right and once more stared at the carving, gently brushing it with his fingertips.

 _It's not deep enough, it has to be deeper,_ his inner voice said and his fingers lingered there for another minute, before he forced them away. _This has to end, I can't end up like Garrett, I won't_. With that, he knew what he had to do; he reached for the encrypted cell that he had laying on his desk and flipped it open. He dialed 5 and hit the answer button and place it up to his ear; all he could do is wait and hope that they would pick up.

Unknown- " _Hello, who this?"_

Coulson- "It's me, Phil."

Unknown- " _Phil? Haven't heard from you in a while, not since that whole thing in D.C._ "

Coulson- "Yeah I know; it's been a crazy few days, and sorry to call so late but...I didn't know who else to call."

Unknown- *worried tone* " _Is everything alright? Is Melinda-_ "

Coulson- *reassuring tone* "She's fine Andrew, I promise. I'm calling because I need your opinion on a personal matter."

Andrew- " _Look Phil, I appreciate you calling, especially after what happened, but umm..._ "

Coulson- *grimacing* "Please Andrew...you know that I wouldn't be calling unless it was a very dire situation. I need your help."

Andrew- *sighs* " _Umm...okay. Yeah, I'll help Phil._ "

 **Medical**

 **Room 3 - - 8:47 p.m**

 **Simmons**

She had been sitting in that same chair ever since Jaxx left, reading to the young comatose man resting in the bed before her. It was one of his favorite books, though he refused to admit to anyone that he actually read the Harry Potter series. She would often stopp and point out the descrepancies that existed within it's pages. One such descrenpancy she continuously pointed out was the fact that she couldn't understand why Hermoine chose Ron over Harry given that the latter was far more intelluctual than the first.

After a reading aloud for a while, she eventually stopped, setting the book off to the side. She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV that was placed in the corner of the small room.

Simmons- *flipping through the channels* "Honestly there's over 300 plus channels and not a single bloody thing on? Abosolutely ridiculous."

She went through all the usual channels, starting with Fox which was still playing coverage of the whole incident that happened in Washington. The reporter on the screen was tall, long-legged blonde; she talked about the public's perception of S.H.I.E.L.D still seems to have shifted. It was only when the reporter gave her opinion that Simmons really started to get irritated.

WHiH World

News Anchor female- " _According to the to the recent poll posted by WHiH; it would seem that the general mistrust that the public has for institutes, like S.H.I.E.L.D., has gone down by a surprising 37%. When asked, most if not all responded by saying that in a world where Gods and Monsters fall from the sky, that the world needs something more to defend it._ "

Simmons- *mumbles* "Your bloody right about that."

WHiH World

News Anchor male- " _Well Christine, what are your thoughts about this whole dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"_

WHiH Christine- " _Well, I think that institutes, S.H.I.E.L.D._ _in particular, if they're not able to protect us from incidents like what happened in D.C. or New York then they shouldn't exist at all._ "

Simmons face twists, a mixed look of annoyance and disgust as she rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

Simmons- *annoyed tone* "Yeah well, in case your forgot S.H.I.E.L.D. stopped Hydra from killing millions so," *imitates a fart noise*

She mumbles a few profanities under her breath as she quickly changed the channel before becoming completly irritated. Next up was NBC, where the newest episode of the Blacklist was already nearly over.

Simmons- *scoffs* "Of course it's a repeat."

Still, she watched it for a few minutes, listening to the character Raymond "Red" Reddington talking and after a minute she leans in closer to Fitz.

Simmons- *whispers* "There's something about that James Spader fellow...His voice is eeirily familiar, but I just can't put my finger on it, hmmmm."

Once again she changed the channel, this time it was the CW, only it was showing a re-run of the show Supergirl. The scene showed the main character Kara talking with her sister Alex and the newly outted martian J'onn J'onzz. This was the first time that she had seen the show, but already she was mentally debating on who would win between this Supergirl and Lady Sif.

Her hand encompasses his, meanwhile she changed the channel once more, this time her face lit up a bit.

Simmons- *whispers excitedly* "That's right, I forgot that the new season of Dr. Who was tonight!"

She was completely enthralled, her entire attention focused on the season premiere. Suddenly, she felt a tingle in her hand which quickly caused her attention and gaze to turn. After looking for a few seconds, nothing seemed out of the norm, but then something unexpected happened. His hand slowly squeezes hers, which in turn caused her to nearly leap out of her seat.

She leaned in closely, first watching his hand squeezing her tighter and tighter. A look of amazement flushed over her face and soon her sight fixated on his eyelids which started to flutter open. Her own eyes lit up as a smile spreads across her face.

Simmons- *excited tone* "Fitz...?"

 **September 23, 2015**

 **10:28 p.m.**

 **Location: Quebec**

A mixture of blue, green and red light shone through the window of the hotel room; from what could be seen with the dimly lit space, the room itself was small, quaint even. In the hallway on the otherside of the door, footsteps could be heard approaching the room, stopping just outside the door. A second later, the sound of keys jingling echoed through the door, followed by the sound of a lock opening. The door slowly opened and a figure walked in, closing the door behind him.

Seconds later the figure flipped a switch on the wall, turning on the light and the ceiling fan which slowly rotated clockwise. The figure tossed the hotel room key on the end table next to the door; his footsteps were heavy, like that of someone that was completely and utterly exhausted. As he approached the bed, he stopped, taking off his jacket and tossing it on the bed. The jacket was a black leather jacket, with white trim on the cuffs and going down the front.

Some of the trim on the cuffs were covered in something wet, something crimson; the blood was fresh, no more than a few minutes old at best. Hiding within the inside jacket pocket was a small brown journal barely peeking out; it too was also covered in some blood. The figure walked into the bathroom, flipping the light switch; the light flickered on just as the figure walked over to the sink.

He reached out with his trembling hands to turn on the faucet; the figure looked up into the mirror before him, his pierceing gaze reflected back at him. His face was covered in cuts and bruises, with a few streaks of blood running down his brow and both sides of his face. Veins were bulging from both sides of his temple as he continued to stare unflinchingly into his own eyes.

 _Another dead end...6 fucking months and all I've got to show for it is-_

He looked down at his hand, at the blood that drenched both his knuckles and his plams. Some of it was his, but mostly it was that of others, those who had answers that he needed, but refused to give. Eventually they told him everything that he needed to know, and more; still, he was losing himself in the violence and that he was not thrilled about.

 _Calm down, just-take a breath Jaxx, you'll find it, you'll find a way to-_

Suddenly there was a humming sound throbbing in his ears, which snapped him out of the trance that he was in. He left the bathroom, with the sink still running, and walked over to the bed. He reached inside the left jacket pocket and pulled out a phone. His eyes lingered on the screen, squinting in recognition at the caller ID. He tapped the lower left of the screen and held the phone up to his ear.

Jaxx- *slightly irritated tone* "I told you, that I would call if I had anything."

The voice on the other end spoke quickly, and quietly which made Jaxx somewhat suspicious and concerned, but he chose not to comment on it. Instead he listened and waited for the inevitable question that he was sure to be asked.

Jaxx- "Yeah, I found the facility..."

*inaudible voice comes through the cell*

Jaxx- "No, by the time I got there those, Watchdog asshats had already cleaned it out. There was nothing left."

*the voice sound both distraught and angered.*

Jaxx- "Take it easy; I did manage to catch up with them, and I got'em talking."

He reaches down, pulling out the brown leather journal with his free hand, opening it to the first page, which had a name written on the inside; Symak, King of the royal family of Attilan. Seconds later he closed the book and tossed in back onto his jacket, before walking back into the bathroom. The steam rushed from the faucet as the water rushed into the sink. His fingers slowly went through the boiling water, yet he did not flinch from the pain, instead he accepted it, embraced it.

He became lost in the the pain, in the furious heating pounding away at his flesh; that is until the voice on the other end of the phone caught his attention once more.

Jaxx- "Yeah, I'm still here. Listen,"

*the voice on the other end becomes insisting*

Jaxx- "I might've found something, it could be nothing,"

*the voice tries to interrupt him*

Jaxx- *sternly* "If it turns out to be something, I'll contact you until then, you need to work things on your end, and I'll work them on mine."

*the voice sounds disappointed, but ultimately agrees.*

Jaxx- "I'll let you know what I find. Fitz...keep your chin up, we'll find a way."

With that the conversation ended, he ended the call; he placed the cell in his back pocket and turned his attention to his reflection.

Jaxx- "Whatever it takes,"

His grip tightens around the edge of the sink, his veins bulge out from under the skin as his muscles tighten and twist. Then something happens, the veins in his hands starts to throb, followed by a burning sensation. His skin felt like it was on fire and his knuckles started aching, itching just beneath the surface.

Jaxx- "Whatever, I have to do; whatever animal, or monster that I have to become,"

The pain grew more instense as the sound of bone cracking echoed off the tiled wall. It wasn't long after that his piercing gaze changed as well, with the veins in his eyes turning to a crimson red. His iris changed from a hazel color to a metallic blue, as something inside of him started to stir once more.

Jaxx- *growl* "I'll unleash it all; to bring you back. And God help whoever gets in my way."


	15. Hey psst, Yeah you, Read this

**UPDATED-Author's Note:** **Hey guys what's going on. I just wanted to post as kind of a guide as to what lies ahead story-wise. Now I'm going to attempt to write two stories, one being a CW-esq Batman/Supergirl crossover and the other being a continuation of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The list below are brief descriptions of future chapters as well as the description for the B/S crossover story. If any of you would like to see any of the other chapters more than the rest, leave a comment or send me a message letting me know which one you would like to read. THX again for all those who have favorited and/or follow the story, I really appreciate it.**

 **Disclaimer: Well, it's official; Coulson has officially fired me from S.H.I.E.L.D. and banned me from the Marvel universe again, so yeah, I own nothing except...nope still nothing.**

 **Next Story**

 **Batman & Supergirl Crossover**

 **"Through Fear and Hope"**

After receiving an unusal assignment from Snapper Carr, CatCo reporter Kara Danvers seems hesitant to believe the reports of a mysterious creature roaming around the sewer lines. Thinking that Snapper just gave her a puff piece, she decides to go with Alex to their usual hangout to blow off steam, where she meets a cute and strangely familiar bartender Bruce. After further investigation into the story, both Kara and the DEO find that it might have a connection between Kara's story and some missing aliens.

But when the DEO and Supergirl investigate, they find themselves up against something that they never thought possible; a 12 foot tall human crocodile ambushes the DEO team, led by Alex, and Supergirl, severly injuring both. As the creature inches in for the final strike, he is sent running thanks to the timely intervention of Gotham's own Caped Crusader. After the ambush, J'onn decides it would be benefical if they had Gotham's own vigilante as backup, which does not sit well with Kara/Supergirl.

However, as the questions start piling up she finds herself without much choice. Why is Killer Croc in National City? Can Kara and the DEO really trust this Dark Knight? And most Importantly, who else is hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike down Supergirl?

 **Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.**

 **Future Chapters**

 **Ep. 4.1 "Under the Veil"**

Phil Coulson, Former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. now Agent Coulson, has been working diligently with his team and new Director Jeffrey Mace to bring S.H.I.E.L.D. into the fray, back into the public eye. Despite all the good that they have done, all the people that they have saved under the new leadership, there is still one question that he has been unable to answer; then suddenly he gets a call, from the last person he expected, Jaxx.

After going dark for nearly a year, Coulson has questions, but they will have to wait when Jaxx informs them that Hydra is still in play and are working alongside the Watchdogs. With this startling new information, Director Mace authorizes Coulson and his team to bring in Jaxx for debriefing, by any means necessary. The question remains, where has he been for nearly a year, and if they find him, will he be the same Jaxx that they remember or will he be something else?

 **Ep. 4.2 "Raging Heart"**

It's been two days since the team discovered that Hydra has resurfaced and working with the Watchdogs; not only that, but they're capturing Inhumans and cutting them to pieces, but to what end is still a mystery. Meanwhile after a thorough evaluation, Director Mace decides to invite Jaxx into the fold and make him an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Jaxx declines as he still has reservations about the organization, including the new Director. But as the team comes under attack by a mysterious new enemy, it becomes clear that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

With this new threat to the team, how will they cope with this new powerful enemy from another world, and more importantly, why are they here?

 **Ep. 4.3 "Breaking through the Storm "**

The team scrambles to find answers as to why Dark Elves have invaded their world, but before they can find such answers S.H.I.E.L.D. gets a a call from Jane Foster, whos says that she has found something that they need to see. Daisy, Mac, Jaxx, and Coulson are sent out to ascertain the situation, they quickly find themselves out of their depth when they come across an ancient Asgardian artifact. Worse yet, it seems that Hydra and the Dark Elves also want to get their hands on the artifact as well; in this three way fight, who will emerge victorious and claim the artifact? What exactly does it do? And...how long has it been hidden here on Earth?

 **Ep. 4.4 "Blurred Lines"**

Jaxx thought that being a consultant was complicated, only to find that it was by far the least complicated part of his job, but now he has to handle a potential dangerous Asgardian artifact, which seems to only work for him; how could this day possibly get any worse? Suddenly, Director Mace & Coulson receive a surprise visit from none-other than Maria Hill and she's not alone. With her, a handcuffed former Hydra agent who was caught breaking into the Stark's Avenger's facility. Coulson had recognized the prisoner as not only a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but also one who had ties to Jaxx. Hill suspects that the spy had purposely let herself get caught and could possibly have invaluable Intel on Hydra and its new leadership.

Things become complicated however, when Jaxx catches wind of this and goes to confront the Director, Coulson and Hill; soon, emotions become heated when Jaxx comes face-to-face w/ his former protégé. As new information about these two comes to light, will Jaxx be able to keep his anger in check or will his emotions get the better of him and turn him into a killer?

 **Ep. 4.5 "Just another Tuesday"**

His former protégé, Sara Mason, is now a double agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to ascertain exactly what Hydra and the Watchdogs are planning. Jaxx is still reeling from their encounter and is more eager than ever to go on mission. He soon gets his wish when an incursion is detected on the outskirts of Las Vegas. When Coulson, Mac, Daisy, Jaxx and YoYo arrive at the scene, they find themselves among a horde of trolls and a pair of Asgardian's, The Huntsman and The Enchantress.

As the team tries to fend off the horde of trolls, the Huntsman and Enchantress make their escape, but once the horde is down for the count Jaxx chases after the Asgardian's. Seconds later another portal opens, this time bringing Lady Sif and The Warrior's Three and with them, dire news. The Enchantress has stolen a powerful artifact from the sacred vault, one that can spell dire consquences for the team, and Jaxx.

 **Ep. 4.6 "How the? What the?"**

As the Warrior's Three return back to Asgrad with important news, Lady Sif remains behind with S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to track the artifact. Due to his injuries, Coulson is sidelined and nominates Jaxx to lead the team in his absence, which is yet another headache for Jaxx to deal with. Coulson tries to help Lady Sif acclimate to the new rules and regulations, which only confuse the Asgardian warrior, on top of that, everytime she sees Jaxx she is reminded of a lover past, causing conflicting emotions to surface.

The search for the artifact is put on hold when the bodies of 7 Inhumans are found just outside of Columbus, Missouri. Director Mace sends Daisy, Jaxx, Mac, and May in search for clues, thinking that it involves Hydra, but they find something completely unexpected; someone is running an underground Inhuman/powered fight club, one which leaves many beaten and few walk away from. Jaxx decides to go undercover as one of the fighters in order to get close to the one behind the fights, however he quickly finds that he may have bitten off more than he can chew when they come face to face with a fighter all too familiar to them. How is he still alive, how is Grant Ward still alive?

 **Ep. 4.7 "The Ward Identity"**

After disbanding the fight club the team must decide what to do with Grant Ward, who apparently has no memory of the past few years, curious yet, he shows no signs of ever having the HIVE strain. The Director assigns the team to dig further, using whatever means necessary; despite their personal feelings towards Ward, the team follows their orders. Daisy's feelings start to get in the way when she has to interrogate him, and nearly kills him in the process. The team traces some evidence back to an abandoned facility once owned by UniDac industries and what they find is beyond their expectations.

Dozens of cryo-chambers are held within, and with them information concerning Grant Ward, the real Grant Ward. When the team learns the truth about what happened, will they learn to forgive him for his trespasses or will he get the death sentence that he so rightfully deserves?

 **Ep. 4.8 "Welcome to the Asylum Ms. Johnson"**

Daisy awakens from a nightmare, a nightmare which has plagued her for so many nights, only to finds herself somewhere she had not expected. Stuck inside a padded cell with no powers, she tries to remember how she got their, but is quickly interrupted by Jeffrey Mace M.D. He states that she is in a facility that handles people with her "unique" mental delusions. There was no S.H.I.E.L.D., no Avengers, no Hydra and worst of all, no Inhumans; the members of her team are either patients, orderlies or doctors and all have no knowledge of the world that she supposedly exists. As she starts to question her own sanity at every turn, will she be able to escape whatever hellish nightmare that she's in? Or will she come to the realization that the universe she thought was real, was nothing more than her own imagination?

 **Ep. 4.9 "Carry on Skyeward Son"**

Once more she awakens and finds herself back in the world she she knows and yet she can't help but feel that something is off. Soon she comes to find out that the this world is different as well; S.H.I.E.L.D. had managed to thwart Hydra's intial attack therefore stopped S.H.I.E.L.D. from collapsing. What's more, Tony Stark never created Ultron, the Inhumans and S.H.I.E.L.D. were allies against Hydra, there were no Watchdogs. Even more than her mother Jiaying is still alive and her father Cal is one of the leading medical personel at S.H.I.E.L.D.; is the fact that Grant Ward never betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D., but instead shot Garrett and that she was actually engaged to him.

Everything seems so surreal and at first she couldn't believe it, but then doubt starts to set in, doubt that this might not be a dream after all. However, back in the real world the team tries their best save Daisy, who is in a machine that is designed by Hydra to make her comply. They don't have long as the base's timer starts to countdown; the only way to save Daisy is for someone to go into the machine and force her to see the truth. But...who will be the one who goes into the conflicted agent's mind? Will Daisy see the truth, or will the temptation of her perfect world be too much for her to resist?

 **Ep. 4.10 "The Wakanda Connection"**

After an exceptionally stressful week the team needs some much needed R&R, but before they could even get a foot out the door, the team gets a call from the Wakanda embassy in New York. Director Mace decides to have Daisy sit this one out until she is thoroughly evaluated by Jaxx. While Jaxx has a private sit-down with Daisy, Coulson and Mace go to the Wakanda embassy and meet with T'Challa, who requests Jaxx's prescence. Before they could ask why, they were attacked by a single assailant; strong, fast and wore Vibranium arms with razor claws and most of all he has a beef with both T'Challa and Jaxx.

Back at base, Daisy is reluctant to open up about her time in the machine, but just as Jaxx is about to tell her a secret of his own Director Mac and Coulson return with T'Challa in tow. The reunion between Jaxx and the King of Wakanda is cut short as the team is briefed about the assailant, for which Jaxx recognizes all to well; Lu'chire, a former Wakandian poacher, hellbent on seeking vengence on Jaxx. A piece from Jaxx's past is revealed and he alone will have to stop this assailant. But it becomes personal when the assailant captures Simmons and Coulson, using them as bait in order to incite an ancient Wakandian trial, one which will leave only one survivor. Will he be able to bring himself to kill this man, or will the enhanced poacher be the death of the so-called "BeastWalker"?

 **Ep. 4.11 "Blinded by the Truth "**

After an incident in Montana, Coulson and Director Mace decide to re-enact the Secret Warriors Initiative. Daisy is put in charge of the team which consist of Yo-Yo, Mac and Fitz; when the team gets a lead on the Enchantress, Lady Sif insists on joining the team for the mission. Coulson sends Jaxx along to keep an eye on the team and Lady Sif. When they arrive at the location they find themselves in a trap, one built from Asgardian magic and illusions. Communications have been cut off and the team is on their own. As they make their way through trap after trap, the team encounters an illusion in the form of Lincoln.

This illusion attacks the team and severely injuries Daisy before the team manages to take it down. Along the way Daisy collaspes from her injuries and is slowly fading. Can the Secret Warriors escape the Enchantress's traps? Or will Jaxx have to reveal yet another secret that he's keeping from the team?

 **Ep. 4.12 "Operation HAUNTING PAST"**

Daisy doesn't remember much of the last mission, only that Mac, Fitz, Yo-Yo and herself managed to escape the trap with just a few scraps and bruises while Lady Sif barely had a scratch and Jaxx was still recovering from injuries sustained. The team is given some much needed R&R, which gave Fitz, Mac, Lady Sif, and Yo-Yo time to discuss what they saw Jaxx had done to save Daisy. As they discussed among themselves of whether or not they should tell Coulson, May, or Simmons; Daisy starts to question if she was truly ready to lead the team again, feeling solely responsible for Jaxx's injuries despite him saying otherwise. She discusses it with Coulson and Mace, but before the three could arrive at a decision they recieve an unexpected vistor, Gen. Glenn Talbot.

During his unexpected visit, Talbot reluctantly devulges information concerning his time serving alongside Jaxx; he tells about they're first mission, "Operation Thor's Hammer" and the mission which eventually led to Jaxx leaving the military, "Operation Jade Jaws". With startling truths and secrets revealed, will Simmons, Coulson, Daisy and Mace still see Jaxx as a friend or will these new revelations isolate him further?


	16. Your vote Matters )

**Hey guys and gals, what is happening. So, I know that its been a while since the season 4 finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and that I'm still working on my Batman/Supergirl story. (I know this maaaannn!) Still, I have a few story idea's, but I would like you all to choose which one you wanna read. Now, I'm doing this because I know some of you really liked season 4 and others not so much.**

 **That is why I'm doing what I call "Reader's choice" where you get to pick the next story; it will be a sequel to Agents of Redemption storyline, so don't worry its canon. (At least in terms of being part of my story continuation.) So, without giving too much away about either story, here are your options:**

 **#1- Title: "System Error"**

 **(Takes place during the Agents of Hydra story arc.) Its been days since Daisy and Simmons went into the framework in an attempt to rescue their friends. With the Zephry running low on power and fuel, YoYo has no choice but to call upon an unexpected ally, Jaxx, for help.**

 **#2- Title: "The line Between the Grey"**

 **(Takes place between Season 4 finale and Season 5 premiere.) Its been months since Coulson and team were taken aboard a military space installation by the mysterious group known as S.W.O.R.D. The team must work alongside this group and its all-too familiar Director when they receive an encoded message from an old friend with dire news; Hydra and the Watchdogs have allied and worst yet, they've captured one of Coulson and company's closest ally's, Jaxx.**

 **Exciting right! Like I said, its up to you the readers to choose which one I should write. I might write the other later on but we will have to see. Leave in the comment section or send me a PM (private message) on which story you would like to see. Once I finish writing my current story then I'll tally the votes to see what you would like to read.**

 **Also would you like Jaxx to stick with the team at the end of the story or do you what him to walk off into the sunset after being a badass, like I did in the previous story. Again, let me know either in the comment section or by PM and I'll catch ya's in the next story. L8R's!**


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